Carbon fuselage experiment

Continuing the experiments for using carbon tow stretched across a truss shape, this is a very early result for a fuselage side for my 24" Telemaster.

I used 1K tow, about 10ft, and wound it through the nails, doubling up in some places. With 1K, if you were organized you could come up with a winding pattern that reinforces areas according to the need.

As a first test, I was nearly sure that 1K would be a joke. But it might just work. The structure is stiffer than I expected and not a noodle. I do have commercial .010" rod and the cured tow isn't too far off the mark for stiffness. I used a tapered, stretched piece of heat-shrink to compress and round the tow.

I was going to do a 3K test next but instead I'm going to repeat it with 1K so I can assemble a full fuselage and get a feel for the handling characteristics. If it proves viable I'll need to keep practicing to improve my skills. This section was unglued in 7 points and needed CA . The points that did bond successfully are quite good and are "free" from a weight perspective.

All in all this has been a fun start.