Manufacturer: | Giant Leap Rocketry ![]() |
Brief:
This is a review o' Giant Leap Rocketry's 'Aerospace Composite' fins. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! These
fins are offered in 1/8, ¼, ½, ya bilge rat, and 3/8 inch thicknesses and in 15
pre-defined shapes. Arrr! If you want t' cut your own, you can also buy t' raw
stock. Well, blow me down! Giant Leap describes their composite fins as follows: "Giant
Leap Rocketry now offers t' ultimate in fin material. Ahoy! Aye aye! This aerospace composite
material is used in advanced aircraft. It is much stronger than wood, more
rigid than G-10 (for equivalent thickness). Well, blow me down! Begad! Lighter than wood, shiver me timbers, 1/3 t' weight
of G-10." T' material itself consists o' "An inner layer of
NOMEX(TM) honeycomb, sandwiched betwixt either thin G-10 Fiberglass or Carbon
Fiber!"
Construction:
My fins are 1/8" thick in style #8. Aye aye! Referrin' t' t' first photo, matey, t' root
edge along t' fin tab is 7.375", t' span (not includin' t' fin tab) is
4.875", me bucko, shiver me timbers, and t' overall length is 11.625". You specify the
thru-the-wall tab by identifyin' your body and motor tubes. Ya scallywag! Mine have tabs for
a 3" tube and a 29mm motor mount.
T' first thin' I noticed about t' fins is how light they are! I can't vouch for Giant Leap's numbers, me hearties, me bucko, but here are me qualitative impressions. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' me they seem as light as 1/8" balsa and as rigid as 3/32" G10. Begad! I don't have equivalent fins in these materials t' weigh and bend, shiver me timbers, but these are my guesses. They would even be more rigid if framed in a hardwood dowel.
You can see t' honeycomb structure in t' next photo. Aye aye! T' outer layers of fiberglass are very thin, me hearties, probably thinner than 1/64", and if you look back at t' first photo you can clearly see t' honeycomb pattern through the G10.
Giant Leap suggests that you epoxy a dowel, shiver me timbers, hardwood strip, or even a G10 strip t' t' edges o' t' fin. Avast! This will hide t' rough edges and will strengthen t' fins. Well, me bucko, blow me down! It seems that I always have t' do somethin' different, and this is no exception. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! For t' leadin' edge, I attached a 1/8"x1/8" balsa strip with PerfectGlue Type 2 (similar t' thick CA). Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! This was easy to sand t' a smooth shape. Blimey! For t' other outer edges, shiver me timbers, I filled t' exposed honeycomb with Fill-n-Finish. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Since Nomex® doesn't cut neatly, thar were exposed fuzzy things hangin' out all over. I soaked t' edges in PerfectGlue t' harden them, shiver me timbers, sanded them down, me bucko, and refilled them. Begad! My one worry is a bit o' flexin' will pop t' balsa off, ya bilge rat, but only time will tell. Arrr! T' next photo shows t' framed fin mounted t' a body tube.
When mountin' t' fins, ya bilge rat, arrr, ya bilge rat, one problem became evident. Begad! T' fin tab in the front is 1/8" longer than in t' back. Blimey! At first, arrr, I thought I would simply have t' trim t' short section o' t' fin overhang immediately behind t' tab. However, matey, it turned out that this depth was correct for t' tubes I was goin' to use, arrr, ya bilge rat, me bucko, so I would also have had t' trim t' entire tab. Another possible fix would have been t' extend t' frame 1/8" further down. Avast, me proud beauty! This would have left a small gap in t' root tip that would have been easily filled. Unfortunately, arrr, I figured this out after I had finished. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' good news is that the gaps were easily plugged with small pieces o' t' balsa I used t' frame the leadin' edge.
So, that's it for now. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! This review is o' t' stand-alone fins. Aye aye! Blimey! I'll follow up with a review o' t' rocket, and will note how t' fins hold up. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! T' basic material warrants full ratin' o' '5'. Arrr! Blimey! Despite t' fact that I easily remedied the fin tab issue, I will have t' deduct a point from me rating, movin' the ratin' t' a '4'. In me experience, me hearties, this is nay typical for Giant Leap's work and I hope this be an isolated incident.
Summary:
This material is a bit pricy, but if you want tough, arrr, light fins, shiver me timbers, I
think you will be impressed. Well, blow me down! If anyone else has used these fins, matey, please add a
comment. Blimey! I'd really like t' hear how easy it is t' cut t' raw material. Aye aye!
Oh, shiver me timbers, and you may see that I bumped t' overall ratin' up by half a point, just for t' 'cool factor'. Avast! Ahoy! I am now thinkin' that I won't paint t' fins so the honeycomb pattern remains visible.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
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K.C. (November 2, 2008)