Winter's Effects on Structural Integrity?

Lammy1000 · 12-05-2006, 03:32 PM

I live in the northeast USA and it gets very cold. The question is i store my helis in my unheated garage. Last winter my blade cp was fine in the cold, but with the T-Rex's additional stresses my concern is brittle fracture, what are others' experiences? I can not fly 3d so flights are relatively easy on the birds.

OTA · 12-05-2006, 04:26 PM

Aluminium parts are not suffering from low temperatures at all, it actually shows the same good toughness even to -200 degr.C (Thats one of the reasons Alu is used as liquid gas storage tanks in the industry)
For different sorts of plastics, there is more difficult to say exactly what happens
at reduced levels of temperatures, but as far as I know from my experience from flying in Norway (really cold winters) neither myself or other have reported brittle fractures.
Be aware that plastics may suffer from ageing, espesially if exposed to sunlight for extended periods. But will guess that is not normal problem .
So forget your concerns and just go flying

Lammy1000 · 12-05-2006, 04:42 PM

It now appears, according to one person, that the T-rex's belt may be the weak link in cold temps. It is currently 30 degrees Far and I just hovered around my garage for 7 minutes which, of course, proves nothing. Anyway, this is a great hobby and i can only hope belt failures are not related to cold temps? There is always the blade cp which is not phased by the cold...yeah, not quite a T-rex.

carlo_the_wonder_frog · 12-05-2006, 05:53 PM

I can definitely tell you that at -25 F the landing gear gets very brittle. I left my T-Rex in the shop overnight and the power went out and no heat on the coldest day of the year. Got to the shop and took the heli inside, just plopped it on the table and both skids shattered all the way up to the screws in the frame.

12-05-2006, 03:32 PM	#1
Lammy1000 Registered Users Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Northeast USA	Winter's Effects on Structural Integrity? I live in the northeast USA and it gets very cold. The question is i store my helis in my unheated garage. Last winter my blade cp was fine in the cold, but with the T-Rex's additional stresses my concern is brittle fracture, what are others' experiences? I can not fly 3d so flights are relatively easy on the birds.

12-05-2006, 04:26 PM	#2
OTA Registered Users Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Norway	Aluminium parts are not suffering from low temperatures at all, it actually shows the same good toughness even to -200 degr.C (Thats one of the reasons Alu is used as liquid gas storage tanks in the industry) For different sorts of plastics, there is more difficult to say exactly what happens at reduced levels of temperatures, but as far as I know from my experience from flying in Norway (really cold winters) neither myself or other have reported brittle fractures. Be aware that plastics may suffer from ageing, espesially if exposed to sunlight for extended periods. But will guess that is not normal problem . So forget your concerns and just go flying __________________ T-Rex 650 CF / Scorpion 4025-630, 12S To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Jive 80+HV,2 x TP 3300 6S V2, Radix 710SB,Super Stubz,Futaba 9451,Spartan DS760/BLS251.Quick UK swash and tail T-Rex 700N, OS 91HZ, Hatori 939, Radix 710SB, BLS 451, 9254 for throttle, Spartan DS760/BLS251, Quick UK tail,

12-05-2006, 05:53 PM	#4
carlo_the_wonder_frog Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Dakota, USA	I can definitely tell you that at -25 F the landing gear gets very brittle. I left my T-Rex in the shop overnight and the power went out and no heat on the coldest day of the year. Got to the shop and took the heli inside, just plopped it on the table and both skids shattered all the way up to the screws in the frame. __________________ I have a few Heli's.

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12-05-2006, 04:42 PM	#3
Lammy1000 Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Northeast USA	It now appears, according to one person, that the T-rex's belt may be the weak link in cold temps. It is currently 30 degrees Far and I just hovered around my garage for 7 minutes which, of course, proves nothing. Anyway, this is a great hobby and i can only hope belt failures are not related to cold temps? There is always the blade cp which is not phased by the cold...yeah, not quite a T-rex.