Aluminum tail

[toothy]

How would aluminum work as tail material?

I have a shot up old "DO NOT ENTER " sign 36"x36" and it's 1/8th thick.

Are their any drawbacks to using aluminum, other than galvanic corrosion?

I did a search but didn't find much except one reference in the ceramic magnet post below, where I think it said it was a bad idea.

Thanks

Wade

[Flux]

It will work fine if you strengthen it

It will work fine if you stiffen it so that it doesn't go into any resonant vibration mode. If you just bolt it to the tail boom it will break up in a few weeks.

Fold over about 1" top and bottom at right angles and fix some damper stays and it will last forever. Try to make some triangle shapes in the damper stays by fitting them to the other side of the boom to the sheet and bend them back to the plane of the sheet.

Flux

[toothy]

Thanks Flux

I have already added some stiffeners and will add some more.

Thanks again

Wade

[gizmo]

I've used the same aluminum tail for about 4 years now and have no problems or signs of cracking. Its 1/8 ( trying to think imperial here, its 3mm thick plate I lasercut up from some scrap aluminum sheets at work ), fastened with 3 3/8th nuts and bolts with split washers.

http://www.thebackshed.com/Windmill/images/Dscf0493.jpg

The only downside I can think of is its reflective, so as the windmill turns to face the wind I get a streak of light zoom across the yard.

Glenn

[luckeydog]

I think it will be fine. I had a small wind turbine up for years with

a steel tail and it worked good. but what ever you do don't use

Pop Rivets to hold it on to the tail boom. I tried that one time and

it lasted about 6 months and the tail fin fell off ...lol

I now only use bolts with lock nuts.  

Luckeydog

.

[dinges]

http://www.otherpower.com/propgarden.html

Last picture.

[toothy]

Thanks for the link.

I think thats a blade not the tail, but you can't tell from the picture.

I can see a blade having some really strange stresses and fatiguing.

Wade