Golf Club Shafts

Stuka Stunt Main Forum · 12 of 12 known posts recovered

Larry F · Sep 08, 2001 01:00 PM

Gang --

The discussion on Matt's wing failure, and the million follow-ups caused me to revisit an old idea. Light graphite golf club shafts are near 1 gram per linear inch, and much tougher than most of the materials we use. Butt diameters for the light weights are .580 to .590, and tip diameters are fairly constant at .335. Weight is pretty uniform from butt to tip, so whacking out a section most anywhere would result in about the same total wing weight.

Adhesion is not an issue, as all modern golf clubs are epoxied together.

Price is an issue! An Aldila "Longwood" at 50 inches and 50 grams is $37.50. A 45" Paragon is 46 grams at $28.50. (These are last year's prices)

Anyway, whether spars, LEs or tail booms, seems like a material worth considering. Mixing them in with more conventional materials with different flex characteristics might also be an issue. Besides, they would be right pretty with clear monokote or mylar.

Larry F

mcm · Sep 08, 2001 02:31 PM

#1 source

Cost isn't a problem to me. The quickest way to improve my golf game would be to pull the graphite-shaft driver from my bag and take a hacksaw to it!! I guess I have two great spars in my garage I never knew about.

Steve Helmick · Sep 08, 2001 06:46 PM

#2 source

LAST EDITED ON Sep-09-01 AT 01:12 PM (CDT)

Only problem is that a tube is not the ideal shape for a spar. You want a box or I-beam, you want the spar part of the box to be on the outer surfaces, and you want to taper them. As much as I respect the abilities of Carbon Fiber, I estimate that about 10 grams of spruce about 1/8 x 1/4 x 18", tapered to zero at the tip, added in front or behind the existing spar, would be all the "insurance" you could possibly need. Fiberglass can sometimes eliminate cracks from stress concentrations if done for new structures, without excessive weight buildup. Using CF Golf Club shafts will create some interesting new problems, with a stiff spar connecting flexible/weak ribs and other balsa parts. Wood works very well if you put just enough in the right place, and is easier to work and glue. You have to splice the Golf Club Shafts in exactly the place you don't want to do that, the wing center. Steve

Steve http://www.nwskyraiders.com/index.html

Jim P · Sep 08, 2001 08:44 PM

#3 source

Being a former club maker I can offer some additional information on available shafts. Graphite wood shafts are .335 at tip, iron shafts .370. Both shafts have a parallel section 6 to 8 inches long at the tip, otherwise they are usually a constant taper from butt to tip which is a problem. The more expensive graphite shafts are "low torque" which means they twist less(rotate less) at impact than higher torque shafts-this would seem to be insiqnificant for model building. The Aldila VX shafts are around $12 and prices go up from there. I recently used a broken shaft as a boom on a combat ship and it seemed to work fine. For a good look at what's available go to www.golfsmith.com.

Scott Riese · Sep 08, 2001 10:37 PM

#4 source

FOR the past two years I've been useing the Carbon rods as my main spar in the wing. I use Windy's "single rod method" to construct the wing. I leave the rod in the wing and glue it to the ribs. I also box the wing to make it a D-tube wing. and I also put shear weebing at the trailing edge. Weight LIGHT.
It works for me. My new PA ship will have two carbon rods in the wing. Scott "Overkill" Riese

Bob Reeves · Sep 09, 2001 02:59 AM

#5 source

What size rod do you use for the spar?

Bob

Scott Riese · Sep 09, 2001 08:28 AM

#6 source

This last plane has .246 od rods. There made for the serious archer.

Larry F · Sep 09, 2001 09:32 AM

#7 source

Steve --

Tubes are good. I-Beams are good in a different way. Long square and rectangular things are just confused I-Beams or tubes, that we use for building convenience, whether a car chassis or a model airplane.

Ever seen a competitive bike frame made from square tubing? They are round tubes.

The advangtage of a tube is it doesn't matter where they are coming atcha. A tube is about as strong NE, SW, S, W, etc. Some disavantage, for sure, but not a total disadvantage.

You are one of the sharper guys here. Thanks for the comments.

Larry F

Doug Moon · Sep 10, 2001 08:47 AM

#8 source

The contant taper would be a problem. But someone else said they used it for a boom on a combat ship. This got me to thinking that you could embed it into the fuse of a Profile and maybe this ould stop the twisting in the rear half of the fuse. All the profiles I have seen fly besides a few fiber glass ones twist horribly durin manuvers. I might try this. I broke my wrist last year and cant really play golf any more so those shafts are looking very tempting...

Doug Moon

Jim P · Sep 10, 2001 10:41 AM

#9 source

Of course the shafts flex also during the swing-are the forces at work on a model in flight sufficient to cause the shaft to flex???. Some more than others. Shaft stiffness, the point in the shaft where it is likely to flex(high, mid, low), weight, etc. can be specified when the shaft is ordered. Generally weights for a 45" graphite shaft run from 50 grams to 100 grams. The ultra lightweight shafts being usually more expensive.
The taper is very obvious in the combat boom by the way. If dedicated to using carbon/graphite spars, arrow shafts would appear to be the best and cheapest way to go.

Larry F · Sep 10, 2001 11:30 AM

#10 source

Gang --

My post was not clear.

First, I was in a U-Key mindset, not a competitive stunt ship mindset. No one will ever build a good stunt ship using golf club shafts, I am pretty sure. Easy building and decent flying.

Second, the only shafts worth considering for our purposes are those silly lady's lightweight shafts.

Third, I had a specific design idea in mind. Take a 50" shaft, whack in two, and make the butt half a leading edge. Make the tip half a trailing edge. Don't add any spars or ribs, and maybe use something like fishing line or 1/16 balsa as the main "spar" to simply support the covering. More like the Czech combat ships than a stunter.

Larry F

Scott Correa · Sep 10, 2001 06:13 PM

#11 source

Golf club shafts are limited in my viewpoint.
For a truly great selection of composite tubes,
go to a quality KITE STORE and ask for kite spars.
There is a myriad of available diameters, weights
and compositions.

Scott