It is not accurate to say it is five times the

strength. It might
be only

twice the strength. The stiffness might be five

times however.

A very complex subject and a lot depends on the

lay-up. Vance on
here

has designed several well known home built kit

aircraft using
composites.

I recommend Composites Basics by A.C. Marshal. For

vacuum bagging,
repair

of honey comb structures and heat cure....

Advanced Composites by
Cindy

Foreman ISBN 088487 -316-1.

Paul Lamar

 Brian,
You blew me away with that claim on 5 times the

strength, I was under
the

impression that carbon was twice as strong as

E-glass and half the
weight -

AS A RULE OF THUMB!
Five times as stiff, I could live with that, however

when it reaches
it's

failure point it will fail catastrophically, unlike

S-glass.

Paul  is correct to say Carbon is a "complex

subject" achieving the
desired

strength depends on the lay-ups being done under

controlled
conditions and

it is not as forgiving as e-glass in home use.

Considering the structures being discussed, like

cowls - I consider
carbon

an ideal material to be used, thin stiff and light.

The Photo's shown were very good work, good

attention to detail and

excellent molds.
My opinion FWIW!
George (down under)

First let me apologize for such a generalized
statement concerning the properties of carbon fiber.
It's so easy to get technical data confused and
misstate your meaning. I didn't mean to imply that all
carbon structures are ultimately 5 times stronger than
s-glass, they simply are not. Carbon fiber parts on
the other hand are signifactly lighter than glass and
generally stronger within the confines of the
materials properties. For applications such as cowls,
wheel pants and other fairings, carbon is vastly
superior. Thanks for the compliments about the parts I
produce. I strive to manufacture light clean parts
that require less finish work by the builder.

=====
BRIAN ALLEY (N320WT)
CARBON FIBER COMPOSITES
304-872-7938 shop
304-562-6800 home

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