Any tips on drilling the mast?

Beninspain · February 17, 2020, 2:42pm

Im almost at the stage where i need to drill my Gong mast.

Any tips greatly appreciated. Whats the best practice? any special ways to seal or protect the cables from rubbing what i assume to be a fairly sharp surface?

Thanks in advance

Jezza · February 17, 2020, 2:56pm

I used a milling machine which made it easy. I then used a rotary tool to round all the edges so that the cables would not get cut. After that I used nail polish to coat the untreated aluminium so that it would not corrode.

Riwi · February 17, 2020, 3:10pm

I make the hole in an angle to make routing the cables easier:

Beninspain · February 17, 2020, 3:21pm

@Riwi great tip. did you add any seal or protection for the cable?

Beninspain · February 17, 2020, 3:27pm

is there a perfect distance - foil - motor? or is it as low as possible without fouling?

Riwi · February 17, 2020, 3:40pm

No, just follow @Jezza’s recommendation.

Riwi · February 17, 2020, 3:40pm

I not sure. I leave approx 2cm between duct and fuselage/stab.

sat_be · February 17, 2020, 3:50pm

I also left a little gap of 1.5 - 2cm that would allow for a bigger prop. If you have no duct, a small gap to allow some flex of the motor/fuselage to avoid the prop to hit the fuselage/rear wing might be a good idea.
In general: as low as possible to keep the prop under water.