Senna
Well-Known Member
I'm toying with the idea of replacing the 1/16" (1.5mm) Finnish plywood called out for as shear web sheeting and leading edge sheeting with a carbon fiber sheeting. The sheet would be created by laying up the carbon fiber on a piece of glass and allowed to cure. The leading edge sheeting would be layed up in a female mold.
There is an opinion in the aviation building community that pound for pound plywood can't be beat. It is still considered to be the best material for its weight when it comes to shearing stresses or torsional stresses. What I'm wondering is if a homemade sheeting of carbon fiber could be a direct or improved replacement for the plywood.
Certainly experimentation with the material will go a long way in answering that question... but I'm hoping someone in this group will have the knowledge to either encourage or discourage this approach.
CAN a carbon composite replace 1/16" ply with regard to strength, stiffness, and weight?
Senna
There is an opinion in the aviation building community that pound for pound plywood can't be beat. It is still considered to be the best material for its weight when it comes to shearing stresses or torsional stresses. What I'm wondering is if a homemade sheeting of carbon fiber could be a direct or improved replacement for the plywood.
Certainly experimentation with the material will go a long way in answering that question... but I'm hoping someone in this group will have the knowledge to either encourage or discourage this approach.
CAN a carbon composite replace 1/16" ply with regard to strength, stiffness, and weight?
Senna
