"Cloudster" Construction Project Session #87
Speed 400 Cloudster Project
Before applying Klass Kote yesterday, the
silk and dope covered fuselage, cowl, fin,and rudder were weighed in together at
95 grams (3.35 oz) as shown below. This provides a reference weight to determine
how much additional weight Klass Kote will add to the covering.
A two ounce Klass Kote mix consisting of 1/2 oz Clear Epoxy, 1/2 oz Satin Catalyst, and 1 oz of Reducer was used to air brush one thin coat on the fuselage, cowl, fin and rudder. It is note worthy to point out that only about half of the mix was actually used in this application. After the Klass Kote had time to cured overnight, this morning the paint fixtures were removed and the fuselage, cowl, fin, and rudder were again weighed together as shown below.
The weight with the Klass Kote is 99
grams (3.49 oz). The good news is that the application of one coat of Klass Kote
only increased the weight by (99-95) = 4 grams (0.14 oz), not nearly as much as
one would think for an epoxy paint. The bad news is that this is well short of
the 0.87 oz I needed to meet the 16 ounce minimum weight for the SAM Speed 400
event. So just as I suspected, I am going to have to add roughly 3/4 of an ounce
of ballast weight to meet the minimum.
There is one attribute of Klass Kote I want you to be aware of. In the picture
below, you can see the Klass Kote's incredibly smooth matte finish left on the
fuselage's doped silk covering. There is absolutely no evidence that there is
any Klass Kote present. In addition, the finish is completely fuel proof,
although that is not a requirement in this electric power application.
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Over the next day or so, I will remove the covering from the window areas and
vent holes and install the side windows and the windshield. Then I will assemble
the model once again and do the final weight and balance. Looks like I am
finally getting near the end of this
project................................Tandy