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 With the Winter building season in full swing for most rocketeers across North America, this is the time of sawdust, sandpaper and epoxied fingertips. Tucked away in basements, garages and spare bedrooms, rocketry enthusiasts are busy preparing and/or repairing their fleet for the first touch of green that signals the Spring flying season is officially back open.
Dave Triano of Shadow Composites showing epoxy application techniques on the video. |
One of the areas of rocket construction that offers the most reward for the least amount of investment is also an area that offers the most confusion — composite reinforcing of a rocket airframe. Composite reinforcement, or as it's commonly called, "fiberglassing", is one of the single most important things a rocketeer can decide to do to increase the strength and longevity of their rockets. But because there is somewhat of an art to composite reinforcing, many rocketeers are nervous to even attempt the work, fearing a failed attempt would destroy their project. 
Shadow Composites offers a full line of thickening amendments for fillet building. |
Thankfully, there is someone who can help, and that someone is Shadow Composites from South Lake Tahoe, California. The proprietor of Shadow Composites, Dave Triano, has put together the Holy Grail of composite construction information in one easy to understand VHS video tape called "Advanced Composite Techniques for High Power Rocketry - Volume 1 - The Basics".
The 1 hour, 41 minute video contains a complete ground-up instructional on advanced composite materials, their proper use in a rocketry context, and demonstrations on the correct tube lamination techniques for glass, carbon fiber, and kevlar. You will also learn about a neat technique called "Heat Tape Winding", a technique that can give you vacuum bagged quality composite structures at a fraction of the cost, time, and equipment investment normally associated with vacuum bagging! 
Proper setup for an accurate layup process is outlined in clear detail on the video. |
Dave's 20 years of experience in composite construction is easily transferred during a viewing of the video, and leaves you wanting to run right out into your shop and give the techniques a try. If you are tired of building and then repairing and repairing and repairing paper rockets, and you have been thinking about using composite construction, this video is for you!
The video covers traditional fiberglass, including the differences in e-glass and s-glass, carbon fiber and kevlar cloths. It goes into detail about the different techniques in cloth production and weave patterns. The technique for using their line of heat shrink tape to squeeze excess resin from the layup was especially beneficial. And, unless you think composite construction is only for high power rockets, there is a whole segment for competition flyers — on building ultra-lightweight competition rockets with carbon fiber and fiberglass matte. 
Dave even covers some of the strong points of their carbon-fiber RAVEN product. |
The video is a bargain priced at $25.00 but for those of you who are interested in a special deal, they will throw in one roll of their specially formulated "Heat Tape" as used in the demonstrations for just $38.00. The Heat Tape alone normally runs $16.00 per 100 yard roll, enough to wrap over fifteen 3" by 36" airframe tubes.
This video is highly recommended and appears to be the first in what promises to be a great series. To order, send payment (plus 7.75% Sales tax in CA.) to: Shadow Composites, Inc.
2260 Dover Dr.
South Lake Tahoe, CA, 96150 For more information, visit their website at: http://www.shadowaero.com/ |
