WCD-Style Belly Pan Weight

[Garrett.d.w]

We went with wood after our aluminum bellypan (much like the one shown above) turned out to be about 5 pounds, which put us overweight. The wood performed great and was much lighter than the metal after we gave a freshman a two inch hole saw. In the end it weighed between 2-3 pounds.

[Gdeaver]

This has come up many times in the past and I always respond with make a composite belly pan. From a mentors view making the belly pan - electronics board from composites is an excellent way to introduce students to the mystical world of composite construction. What our team does is take a 1/4 " , 4mm or 6mm piece of birch ply wood and laminate both sides with 5.7 OZ plain weave carbon fiber using vacuum bagging methods. It's not that hard and is doable by most teams. 11 of our student got hands on experience this year. All though keeping the students focused and neat, not making a gooey mess can be quite mentally draining. The end product is a wonderful material. I can provide some link if needed or search youtube, there are some good videos on it.