Here is the process of my first attempt at making a carbon
landing gear for the ECO 8.
I bought a 6" PVC conduit coupling to use a mould. I then
wax the mould with automotive wax because my release agent
didn't show up in the mail yet. I laid 10 layers of carbon
cloth inside the coupling and blew up a balloon to squeeze
against the carbon cloth/epoxy mix. I popped the laminate off
the next day and found the spreading strength is there but the
laminate is a bit twisty. So I scuffed the laminate with some
sandpaper. Put it back in the mould and lay up another 9 more
layers. I ran out of carbon weave cloth so I added a layer of
Fiberglas e-cloth and a layer of kevlar I have in my junk pile.
So with a total of 19 ply I have a pretty thick laminate. I
measured it at 2.7 mm. Here are some pictures of the process.
Here is a picture of the "top" of the laminate. This is the
part against the PVC conduit. You can still see the wax
residue.
Here is a picture showing the "bottom" of the laminate.
Ok this is what it looks like.
