Message-ID: <01BDE80D.55098CB0.ed@testelectronics.com>
From: Ed Armstrong <ed@testelectronics.com>
Reply-To: "ed@testelectronics.com" <ed@testelectronics.com>
To: "Lancair [Lancair.List@Olsusa.Com] (E-mail)" <lancair.list@olsusa.com>
Subject: fiberglass and carbon fiber
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 22:47:38 -0700
Organization: Test Electronics
Mime-Version: 1.0

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Scott Dahlgren wrote
Fiber glass is a very good safety material.  it has very high impact and 
flexing abilities.  the reason glass planes keep flying is that the glass 
flexes under most impact/impulse loads and the full load never develops. it 
makes up for lower fatigue life.

John Cooper wrote
Yes, the worst that will happen to my plane is that cracks develop where 
the epoxy holding the carbon fiber to the pre-preg fails in shear, in which 
case I am back to the "standard" strength and will have to repaint my 
plane.

Scott is right. The carbon fiber does not flex, and will take all the load 
until it shears away from the e-glass, and I can imagine a lot of stress 
being concentrated in small areas on the e-glass and longeron as the carbon 
is cracking off the e-glass. Now, I hope Lancair tested my carbon fiber 
body because the body is carbon fiber, but the longeron is the same wood 
that is in the e-glass plane. That means that the body of my plane is going 
to take up most of the stress, and my longeron is not going to do much of 
anything. Any one have a word of encouragement for me?

Worried
Ed
Watsonville CA.