Re: F1D regional at the Pike's Peak Ceiling Climb

From: John Kagan <john_kagan_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:33:33 -0000

--- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "Mark" <f1diddler@...> > I
> ...The down side(s) for me are: The outer
> sheath material is thin and tends to chip over time, eventually
> exposing the foam, unless you veneer over every corner with something
> else. Also, the foam glues poorly and you have to mostly depend on
> gluing the thin shell (epoxy or CA.) 2. It doesn't stay perfectly
> flat, even unused sheets. 3. Real Gatorboard isn't cheap anymore.

Gorilla Glue worked very well on my Gatorboard box. You just need to
masking tape around the joints because it expands. Just pull up the
tape after it expands, but before it hardens.

I used wood "outer corner" molding (with an "L" shaped cross section)
to protect and beautify the edges. I can see how the edges might chip
otherwise, but with wood protecting the edges the center area is very
durable. Only four of the sides are Gatorboard, and it has only four
molding strips. The other Gatorboard edges butt up against the two
polycarbonate sides.

The box has proven to be very durable - lasting seven years, 3
international trips, dozens of other airline trips, etc. with no
appreciable wear. It fits neatly in airline overhead bins, and I
particularly like that it is significantly lighter than an equivalent
strength wooden box.

The only downside is that I would adjust the dimensions slightly if I
made another one. It could use another half inch of clearance under
the props.
Received on Fri Feb 20 2009 - 10:33:35 CET