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Foam of choice for sandwich airplane construction

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birdus

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
193
Location
Moses Lake, WA
I'm just getting into composite construction (and having lots o' fun learning) and don't know what the foam of choice is for fuselage and wing panels. This is for my F4U (AKA "Carbon Corsair") project. There's blue, yellow, PVC, Divinycell, Last-a-foam, 3lb, 4lb, 5bl, etc., etc., etc. I'm a long way of from building the plane, but am doing research, planning, design, etc. In the near future, however, I want to do some sample panel layups for 1) experience, 2) to get an idea how many layers I want on the outside for resistance to screwdrivers, airshow dummies, bird strikes, etc., and 3) to get some numbers for initial weight estimates.

What foam should I buy? I'll probably get 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" sheets for testing. Also, I'm going to be building the spar(s) according to Jim Marske's instructions. Will I use the same type of foam for the spar shear webs?

Thanks,
Jay
 
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