The Use Of EPP In Model Airplanes

I am a great believer in the use of new materials in the hobby of building and flying radio controlled airplanes. It is after all a high tech hobby! High tech goes with the hobby like strawberries with cream. But, man, do people resist new stuff!

So, on to EPP or Expanded Polypropylene. While looking similar to EPS or Expanded Polystyrene, (Styrofoam) it has some great benefits for building model airplanes.

First, when you get it wrong, the plane bounces! How cool is that? Pick it up, make sure everything is still where it should be, and off you go again.

Second, if you REALLY get it wrong, a few squirts of glue, put everything back where it should be, and off you go again.

As a long time builder of radio controlled model airplanes using traditional materials like balsa, I can promise you traditional materials don’t work like that! In a split second your beautiful model converts into many more pieces than it had before you started building it. They can often be more difficult to fix than they were to build in the first place!

So, as you gather, I like EPP. But there is a lot of misunderstanding out there about it, In fact this blog entry was motivated by an article I have just read in a national RC magazine.

The guy fussed so much about how to glue or paint EPP that you could be put off by it being to difficult to use. He treated EPP as if it were a strange sort of new, more flexible EPS.

Guys, EPP isn’t some sort of EPS. EPP may look the same as EPS but it is a whole new item.

EPP is immune to just about everything. There is it’s main problem, as it can be difficult to get glue to stick to EPP. It won’t run away just because you have frightened it with a little solvent! (Like EPS does!)

That means you can use solvent based glues and paints. I use a solvent based contact adhesive called EVO-STIK IMPACT that I get from my local B&Q to glue it, and I use normal automotive aerosol paint to paint it.

I have decided to put up a guide page on The Radio Controlled Airplane to hopefully dispel a little of the mystery surrounding the use of EPP.

The page is 'Using EPP' How easy is that?

All for now, try to avoid the bounce, but if you really must bounce, use EPP!