How long do foam wings last

[isabel]

I am looking for information on the "life expectancy" of balsa sheeted foam wings on 35/40% planes, or the rest of the airframe for that matter. Do they last "forever"? Is it realistic to expect several thousand flights out of them? How about 5000? I'm talking about IMAC flying (Intermediate to Unlimited range).

I realize it will depend on how they are built in the first place... but let's say they are an "average" kind of build... or alternatively let's say they were built as best as possible...

I would appreciate any information anybody may have about the "longest flying airplanes" they know, in the 35/40% class.

Thank you!

Isabel

[RollingHarrier]

Hi Isabel,
I have a Carden Edge that was built in 2001 and it's still as strong as ever. I use it for IMAC and 3D/ Freestyle. Not sure when Snap-a-Saurus' Edge was build but it had many ,many, many, many, flights on it and it's still going strong. So I don't think you have too much to worry about when I comes to longevity.
Hope this helps
Jim

[isabel]

Hi Jim,

Any idea on the number of flights these airplanes may have? We put a few thousand flights on our airframes each year, it adds up quickly and I was wondering if we will ever "reach the limit" Thanks for the info!

Isabel

[TeamFlatout]

We have one that has well over a 1000 flights on it. Elie has a ton on his Carden also. Dont think you'll wear out the foam wings. Unless they hit the ground.

[MikeC3D]

	Quote: Originally Posted by isabel
	Hi Jim, ? We put a few thousand flights on our airframes each year, Isabel

Must be nice eh.....lol

[hangingbach]

Well we have been using foam core wings for a long time. We did a lot of stress testing on them for our sbach342. including walls from a full throttle 45 degree dive. etc. we didnt have a single failure. plus we didnt see any signs of increased flex or stress on them.

[Test Pilot]
RC-Xtreme Machines

[MikeC3D]

A friend had a wing in the shucks and in the bagging process one time and some how turned up the vacume to much, when he returned the wing was crushed under the pressure, it was already ruined so they decided to see how much it would take before the wing would break, they placed it between two buckets, he stood on it, and started bouncing up and down until it broke, it was amazing how much he had to put into it to get it to break. Much more than it could ever see in the air....In my opinion, when you see wings come apart, its usually because they werent bonded together very well in the building/sheeting process, and delaminated. JMO

[SleepyC]

Usually something else will fail before a wing.
Meaning either 1) the pilot, 2) servos 3) linkage 4) the pilot......
Something else will fail before you need to worry about the airframe.

But this is with regular maintenance. Make sure you check for loose parts every few flights, check for broken glue joints and take care of the plane, and it should last for quite a while!

Also, the type of flying will change the life span.

Elie's 40% Carden edge had probably 2000+ flights on it including many many walls, and high pressure elevators, and I would say that the wings did flex some now, but again, this is after several thousand flights, with 400 lbs of smoke oil soaked into every part of the plane.

SO... yea they will last a long time.

[isabel]

Thanks for the feedback... I just got a reports by email too of 5000+ flight Carden planes... not gentle flights either... it looks like that's not what we should be worried about then!

PS we did that wing as a platform on a bucket test too with a Wild Hard wing... amazing!!
PPS yes we are lucky to fly that much... life is good

[exeter_acres]

The Carden I have been flying is on its 6th season (we believe) of continual IMAC flying... Contests, practice, etc. etc.

LOTS of flights....

Also, it depends on the build quality too...

[jaguar bone]

IMHO-
Focusing on the BEST type & make hinges used might be more interesting. Shy of the skin delaminaing from the foam- what else could really "fail"? Most IMAC craft have fuse mounted gear so stress from hard landings and sitting around really isn't as major a factor either- I'd presume!

I cam tell your this - CA hinges (yes on smaller planes only PLEASE) will last about 2 years - then hang on for a fun ride!

[Dan_nO]

There is also the Dalton and the Godfrey airframes. Dont know how many flights that Mark Leseberg has on his Dalton but he has won the Tucson Shootout the last consecutive 4 years with it in the Invitational class.