Definitely not the same as baby powder, actually micro balloons is another name for phenolic spheres. Microscopic balls of phenolic material. As Steve sezs it makes the epoxy much lighter, much easier to sand and color match the foam. Drawback is that the epoxy kicks much faster when it's added. A cure for that however is to mix your epoxy/micro balloons in a plastic cup and suspend this cup in some ice and water. Slows the cure down.

Steve beat me to the punch.

Originally Posted by jetset44

Sounds like that SUMO glue is similar to Gorilla Glue, right? The reason I don't use Gorilla Glue is it takes so long to dry (overnight).

Yes it is, SUMO dosen't expand quite as much as Gorilla and dries faster, dries white. I used both and settled on SUMO.

Hey guys, thanks for the glue recommendations. I may try out the SUMO glue.....especially if it dries white.

I thought of another question as well....

As far as hinges go, just using tape seems like a week idea for the surfaces...I experimented with some scrap depron pieces. I have the purple 3m tape here. It feels like it would come apart in flight. With my balsa models I usually bevel both surfaces before attaching plastic hinges. How exactly are you doing this with just tape? And are you beveling just one side of one surface or both?

I have a bunch of plastic hinges....I can glue them into the depron....right?

It would be one thing to crash due to an error with orientation, etc. , but to crash due to an elevator flying off....

-Chris

Originally Posted by c_cormier

As far as hinges go, just using tape seems like a week idea for the surfaces...

-Chris

I've used tape, hotglue hinges and the plastic ones. they all work. I have gone to get a plane to fly and found the tape pulling away (rarely), at that point I put new tape on. never had one fail in flight.

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

My Kit arrived yesterday from ModelAero! It looks fantastic in every respect. I can't wait to get started on it this afternoon. Nice work Scott!!

Glad you are happy with the kit! It's easy to make great kits when you're working with Steve. He's got the talent; I just do the dirty work.

Deadeye - Polarisitis, that is great!!!

I like to use Scotch Transparent tape for hinges, but on the Polaris rudder, I used CA hinges.

Scott

www.ModelAero.com

I never had much luck with the YardBird foam glue on the grey Depron. On the white that came with the Polaris kit it works REALLY good!!

The nylon "waffle" hinges that are readily available make great hinges for foamies. They flex well at the hinge joint and because of the waffle design they hold glue and don't easily pull out.

I use Blenderm tape on all my foamies. Never had any come loose.

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

I never had much luck with the YardBird foam glue on the grey Depron. On the white that came with the Polaris kit it works REALLY good!!

One thing I have been meaning to mention is that I recommend epoxy for the wing spars on the Polaris. I used Ultimate RC glue on my first one and epoxy on the second, and the epoxy makes the wing stiffer.

The Ultimate RC glue is slightly flexible, which is good in most applications, but I think epoxy is better for the wing spars.

Scott

www.ModelAero.com

Thanks for the recommendation Scott....My next step is attaching the spars and the carbon rod. I'll use epoxy on them.

I have some of the waffle looking hinges, I think I'll try them out on the polaris and I will use tape to cover the gaps.

-Chris

Originally Posted by galloping ghost

One thing I have been meaning to mention is that I recommend epoxy for the wing spars on the Polaris. I used Ultimate RC glue on my first one and epoxy on the second, and the epoxy makes the wing stiffer.

The Ultimate RC glue is slightly flexible, which is good in most applications, but I think epoxy is better for the wing spars.

Scott

www.ModelAero.com

I used epoxy on my spars. I also went around the inside of the fuse with Foam Safe CA and setter for reinforcement and waterproofing. I never realized that all the electronics end up so permenantly mounted and sealed up! Has anyone ever added a rear hatch for RX/ECS/servo access??

Guys, do yourself a favor and get a bottle of Gorilla fast cure poly glue. It's the stuff that dries white and is fast acting. That, and Depron are a match made in heaven. I woodpecker critical areas before gluing, lay a thin bead down, mist with water, and clamp, tape, or pin in place. If your shop is 65 - 70, it should be set up enough in 20 minutes to unclamp. It's sandable in about 3 hours. Foaming glue can be cut off with a razor, too.

I think I figured out the control surfaces bevel question I had. If I bevel a 45 deg on each surface on the undersides, then use tape flat on the top and on the bottom, contoured with the bevel, it seems to hold quite well with scotch giftwrap tape. "The purple package"

-Chris

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

Has anyone ever added a rear hatch for RX/ECS/servo access??

Yep! I put as small hatch just aft of the step, held on with 3M Gift tape (just like the battery hatch). I added this primarily to be able to check for water leaks and to give the inside a better chance to dry out if it did. I haven't needed to access this area for any other reason.

Steve