Generic material in Spectra Wire.

[Andrew Tinsley]

Sorry if I am covering old ground here, I spoke with a local fishing tackle dealer about suitable line. The gentleman thinks that what I am after is fluorocarbon monofilament. It doesn't sound correct to me!
Can anyone tell me what is the generic type of line I need? It makes purchase a little easier. I did try some of this fluorocarbon monofilament and it worked very well with a small Cheshire kitten on PAW 0.55 power. Mind you there is negligible line pull so it isn't a good test. The line is rated at 13 lb for interests sake. If, as is probable, this isn't the right stuff, I don't want to find out with a Wasp powered model!

Regards,

Andrew.

[don Burke]

Look for "spiderwire", braided not monofilament.

Here's a source in the US.

http://www.basspro.com/Brand-Spiderwire/_/N-1z0xb4u?affcode_c=17kw666185&SST=4ada571b-ab98-30a9-6334-0000744c6c32

The stuff is really strong and does NOT stretch.  Check the 1/2A section there has been a lot of discussion about it.

[kenneth cook]

         Hello Andrew, is the Spiderwire Stealth Braid available in the UK? Ken

[Andrew Tinsley]

Hello Don and Ken,
Don, many thanks for the US source, if I get desperate, I can always see if they will post to the UK. Ken, not sure if the Stealth Brand is available here but I can have a look and see. I was given a lead, by a UK resident, but that stuff was green and I have problems enough flying over grass with normal lines. If I had the green stuff I hate to think what a mess it would be.
 I may have missed it somewhere, but no one seems to give the material that Spiderwire is made from, apart from the fact that it is braided, there doesn't seem to be a generic chemical name for the stuff, the fishing tackle man I was talking to seemed to know his stuffwhen it came to the chemical names, he grumbled that there was so much different stuff being marketed under the same overall Brand name but different materials!
  I am impressed by the fluorocarbon monofilament material, very smooth tangle free material. It does break but you need to give it a good sharp pull. It goes at the knot .........but the breaking strain is only a little less than the line itself. For the featherweight plane that I have tried it on it seems a very good solution and it is quite inexpensive. I will let everyone know when it lets me down!

Regards,

Andrew.

[Andrew Tinsley]

Hello Ken,
I just checked and Spiderwire Stealth is available from many outlets in the UK. A huge difference since I last looked a few months ago. The only problem is to find the right breaking strain with a decent (non green) colour. Mind you that doesn't look an easy one!

Thanks again,

Andrew.

[Andrew Tinsley]

Well I have some bright red Spidewire Stealth on its way to me!

Thanks!

Andrew.

[Mike Anderson]

Just now stumbled onto this thread - you never did get an answer to the material queston -

Spiderwire (et al.) are produced from one or the other of two different processes which result in a nearly identical molecular substance -

one is called Dyneema and the other is called Spectra.  They are what is known as 'ultra-high molecular weight polypropylene'.  Spiderwire or any other of the high-tech fishing lines will have one of these two called out somewhere on the packaging.

You also want to make sure that you are getting a braided line, not a 'fused braid' and learn one of the tried and true knots.

[Andrew Tinsley]

Mike,
Thank you very much indeed for solving the problem / question. I am a retired physicist and I always like to know what I am dealing with. The red material that I have is pretty good, at least I can see the red on the grass.
I don't want to ignite previous controversies, but the Palomar knot (tightened when moist) seem to hold up well. I have tried a bit of not too scientific pull testing and it does break at the knot. It does so at around the claimed breaking strain. Straight pulling (no knot), gives a break at around 20% more than the claimed breaking strain.
Because of the above, I have used knotted line and so far it seems indestructible! It is great if you accidently walk on it...... you don't have that feeling of panic!
Before everyone goes out and uses a Palomar knot rather than the crimped aluminium tube method that Larry(?) recommends, please try breaking your line as I did and check the results. I am NOT responsible for any pile ups due to line breaking at the knot!
I did try the fluorocarbon monofilament (knotted). I didnt have any line breakages, but it was only a small PAW 0.55 powered model and I was probably lucky. Testing that material did give breaks at the knot at quite low values.
Maybe I have this all wrong and that it is a sudden impulse type loading that gives the results that other people have seen. It is not an easy quantity to replicate so take all the above with some reserve!

Regards,

Andrew.

[Mike Anderson]

Never want to use a monofilament - Spiderwire and most of the major mfr's all have various monofilaments as well as the braided UHMWP's.  These are not the same as a 'fused braid'.  I have used the fused braid for 1/2A sportsters, and it's OK.  You don't really have to worry about pulling the knots out or having it break if you use a large enough line.   But it is not in conformance with the AMA recommendations for the use of these materials for control lines.

My feeling is that any of the available Brand-Name fishing lines are going to be fine.  We made up lines and pull tested when they first were approved for use in Combat.  Other than some minor problems with the knots actually pulling out (not breaking) we have been pretty pleased with them.

However, I accidentally won an ebay auction for some 70 lb. test "Dyneema" fishing line from a Hong Kong drop-shipper.  This stuff was very inexpensive (like $5.00 for 125 yds) and gave me grief.  I made up a set of lines for a .35 powered sport plane, to exactly 60 feet long.  Then I staked the ends down and pull tested them to 50 lbs (25 lb/line) - they stretched out almost two feet.  So I cut them back to 60 feet and pulled them again and they were then stabilized and I've flown this set of lines many times with no real problems.  The real problems were in my knot testing - at any pull over about 35 lbs (on a single line), the knots would just unravel and straighten out, no matter what type of knot.  I never tried any super-glue or other method because that then creates a stress-riser situation which would break at the knot in a shock situation.  But I never found a 100% reliable knot either.  So I guess my advice is to stick with the major name-brands of line and the recommended knot(s).