what if you make an RC plane's wing by first constructing some ribs out of balsa wood, make them all stick together with some carbon fiber rods, and then put some type of material over the top? What material though?
>>924651
if we're already looking at carbon fiber rods, why not do the foam core with epoxied carbon tape on top thing?
Even if not that, I'd look at some sort of cloth or cloth-like material I could add rigidity to, like fiberglass or something.
>>924653
I've seen it done with cling wrap like material before
>>924651
Wow, never thought this skillset would ever be used again.
You don't need carbon fiber rods for the spars, you can use something like birch.
To cover the wings an fuselage, you have choices. There's traditional paper-and-dope (it's a special type of paper), or silk-and-dope (stronger, but heavier and more expensive, and as I recall a little harder to work with), or there's a type of heatshrink plastic, but you need special equipment to work with it, namely a special type of heated iron to stick it down to the wing skeleton, and a heat gun to shrink the stuff, and it's not foolproof, if you get it too hot it'll melt through and then you start from scratch.
The main thing about covering the bones of the plane is that the covering has to be *tight* or it'll screw up the aerodynamics, and especially the wings have to be free of ripples. Takes a some practice and patience.