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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Larry Fernandez on July 23, 2017, 04:47:38 PM
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After finishing up the cockpit and installing the canopy, I'm finding small pieces of balsa and sawdust finding there way into the cockpit.
I was able to drill a .250 hole into the front of the cockpit from the tank compartment and hook up a tube to my vacuum pump to suck out most of the debris. However, static on the canopy wont release some small pieces.
So, how can I get rid of the static build up on a butyrate canopy so that the debris can be released and vacuumed out.
Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team
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Wipe te outside of the canopy with one of those dryer sheets. They have anti static stuff in them. There is also some spray stuff women use to kill static to keep dresses from clinging to stockings and panty hose and such. You can buy antistatic spay at the hardware store also, I bvelieve. Spraying it lightlyand wipeing with the dryer sheet may dissipate the static. I had the same issue once on a Shark.45 . Had to drill a similar hole in the back of the canopy to extract the debris. I plugged the hole with the stopper from the back end of a stick writing pen! It will be interesting to hear what others have to say, because this can be a problem! Good luck with it.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
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There is also some spray stuff women use to kill static to keep dresses from clinging to stockings and panty hose and such.
And when you get to the store and ask them where it's at just say, yeah, no really, it's for my model airplane! LL~
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Doncha just hate it when that happens. HB~>
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Try using canned air.
Staples, Costco and office supply stores sell an aerosol with air that is often good for cleaning fine areas and also reducing static. The can comes with a thin tube which you can likely use to flood the canopy with air.
After you have loosened the particles by doing this you can then vacuum it out again.
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I haven't seen the cockpit area, but my guess is the fix for the long term is to trim the canopy down, redo the cockpit area by making sure it's closed up tight so no more particles enter the canopy. Then put a new canopy in place.
Just a guess, but normal flying use, vibration, plus the model being jolted on landings and maneuvers will probably loosen that stuff again and again over time.
If the fix isn't permanent you might have to repeat the cleaning.
Removing the canopy may sound like a big deal, but it's also an opportunity to re-detail the cockpit if it could use it.
Lastly, and the quicker fix, you could scratch the canopy up and paint it. Blue seems to be a popular color and done nicely, doesn't distract from the model.
You see many painted canopies.
Good luck.
CB
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Maybe grab your Zerostat gun from your turntable and pull the trigger at the canopy a half dozen times and try your vaccuum again?
Just a thought,
EricV
PS: had another thought after I posted... maybe insert something sticky into the hole you drilled... think like rolled up fly paper or duct tape rolled up backwards, sticky side out, sticking up into the cockpit a little. Sneak a tube past it to blow some air around in the canopy, and as the dust flys around, it will eventually all stick to the tape?
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After finishing up the cockpit and installing the canopy, I'm finding small pieces of balsa and sawdust finding there way into the cockpit.
I was able to drill a .250 hole into the front of the cockpit from the tank compartment and hook up a tube to my vacuum pump to suck out most of the debris. However, static on the canopy wont release some small pieces.
So, how can I get rid of the static build up on a butyrate canopy so that the debris can be released and vacuumed out.
Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team
Get some pure alcohol (we want it to evaporate rapidly) inject an ounce into the cockpit and shake. Suction out the liquid ( and hopefully the debris). The alcohol will evaporate doing no damage to the wood, plastic or paint.
Kim.
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I do not have a fix for the problem after debris appears inside the cockpit. I do have a way to eliminate the problem before it starts.
First, there is no way to remove all of the dust and small particles that remain inside the structure of a model before it is covered and finished. That means there will be all sorts of stuff shaking around inside the model and there is some undefined force/energy field to force that material inside the cockpit area. Unless the cockpit/canopy area/space is completely sealed from the rest of the airplane, some of that material will find its way inside the cockpit. The problem then becomes if the canopy/cockpit is completely sealed, there is no way for the air to vent from the cockpit on a hot day. I have seen the canopy balloon and become totally misshapen when the airplane was in the back seat of a car on a hot day (easy to find hot days in Arizona) because of the air pressure inside the cockpit.
There are two ways to avoid the pressure inside the cockpit, assuming the cockpit area is completely sealed/finished from the rest of the model's interior.
1. Place a small hole in the back or some inconspicuous location on the canopy to allow the air to vent. This hole does not need to be very big, like way less than 0.03". The problem with this is that fuel/oil may find a way to get through that hole.
2. Place a "vent" inside the cockpit, like beneath the pilot. This can be like a short (1/4" Al tube, 1/4" long or smaller) in the floor of the cockpit, beneath the pilot or some other inconspicuous place. Stuff the tube with cotton and add a drop of CA to keep the cotton in place. Air can still vent and the cotton acts as a filter to the smallest particle that will try to get into the cockpit.
This still does not solve any problems with heat distorting the canopy on really hot environments. Some canopies (commercial or home made) are more susceptible to this depending on the material used. But that is another subject.
Keith
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Larry...you could always just pull tug heat n stretch the Dark grey / LT Blue Mono Kote over the canopy and hide the debris in the cockit
OK I am so sorry... not really a funny problem for such a well done model
of the suggestion offered I bet one will work to bust the static... hint static is either Pos or Neg.... if cling free's don't/ release it---- go the other way with a wool sock and see if it will REPEL the crap
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As long as you put a microgram or so of 210Po in there to dissipate the static charge, I have never had a problem with this.
Brett
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As long as you put a microgram or so of 210Po in there to dissipate the static charge, I have never had a problem with this.
Brett
Yeah, just don't get it airborne and breath it. Kodak (and Canon's "staticmaster") had anti-static brushes for film and they embedded an Alpha particle that was 4-5 Mev into the ceramic base (embedded into the ceramic to keep it from becoming airborne) I might still have one or two in a drawer somewhere... prolly the same drawer where I keep my Perfect Asbestos gasket kits and other hazmat stuff.
EricV
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Polonium could either reduce canopy static or make your plane a neutron source for atomic bomb detonation. I think I like the repeated vacuuming idea.....
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Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but, to keep debris out of the cockpit, I use a small hole 3/16 or so in the floor, in a space where its not seen, then cover the hole with silkspan or a small piece of silk, DO not seal it, just the edges and leave the material raw, it will filter out dust and stuff from getting in that area
This will relieve pressure when hot, and filter the air going in and out
Randy
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The easiest/surest fix is to PAINT the canopy.....
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The easiest/surest fix is to PAINT the canopy.....
Bite your tongue Rich, I don't do painted canopies
Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team
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Bite your tongue Rich, I don't do painted canopies
Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team
Ah, a new event started.
The LBST stunt plane hurl. Extra points if it lands and there is MORE debris in the cockpit. Negative points if there is less!!
So it's....The LBSTSPH....You can hold it in tandem with the Fox Hurl! Oh what fun!