Flight Cases built on rock ‘n’ roll

Turn the clock back several decades to the time of the legendary touring bands of the 70s and 80s. There you’ll find yourself awash with CP Cases’ Flight Cases. Many leading artists came to CP Cases knowing our Flight Cases could withstand the rigours of worldwide transportation. They were recognised as the hallmark of quality engineering and manufacturing. Imagine the stories they could tell!

Nowadays, even the most discerning customer considers a Flight Case. Their reputation precedes them. Particularly following those halcyon days that demonstrated their strength and durability. Besides, they are highly customisable; the latest examples include applications in broadcast for Sony Sonaps, medical for Stryker Corporation and sports for MotoGP.

But reputation and quality can only be built over time. It’s not by chance that our Flight Cases are held in such regard. Many may look similar; black or coloured plywood panels, chunky corners, butterfly latches, lots of pop rivets etc. But it’s only when you look underneath the skin, do you come to realise that some are mere facsimiles of others.

What makes a good flight case?

So what makes a good Flight Case then? The ingredients are pretty simple. Use the best available materials and apply the highest quality build standards.

Pro Classic Plywood – only Finnish Baltic birch combi WBP plywood (Water Boiled Proof) is used. This sustainably sourced plywood consists of thin cross-laminated sheets of birch and spruce which are bonded together, using phenolic resin adhesives. Baltic birch is much tougher and harder than lightweight marine ply and offers a far superior “fix” for rivets.

Pro Classic External laminate – exactly the same bonding process is used to laminate vulcanised fibre (VF) giving the individual panels strength and resistance to impact and abrasion that is second to none. WBP birch plywood bonded to VF is the material of choice for extreme performance skis and skateboards.

Vulcanised fibre (VF) – is a laminated plastic sheet composed of only cellulose. The 0.50mm thick material is a tough, resilient, hornlike material that is lighter than aluminium, tougher than leather and stiffer than most thermoplastics. VF provides an unobtrusive uniform matt black surface finish which is almost impossible to abrade or cut through and will not burr –and readily accepts decals, stencils and screen printing.

Pro Classic Edging – the material of choice, inevitably, is the same Vulcanised Fibre that provides abrasion and impact resistance to the case panels. Unlike aluminium which burrs and therefore handlers would require gloves or protection VF would stand up to truly abusive treatment.

Which rivets? –Even the smallest detail is accounted for and we selected a machine-driven, self-piercing, nickel-plated steel rivet either semi-tubular or bifurcated, depending on the substrate/application.  Rivets have to withstand shear, tension, compression and torsional stresses.

Chippendale (like furniture) construction – each panel is accurately machined to size before adopting cabinet making techniques to pin and glue them together into a 6 sided “cuboid”. The PVA adhesive is left to cure, before we trepan off the lid, giving us a 5 sided base and a 5 sided lid that are already rigid and strong – before any edging, rivets or hardware is even fitted. This construction method is one of the “unseen” elements that ensure structural longevity, resistance to impact and performance integrity.

Inside protection

After travelling through the assembly process, the flight case is hand-fitted with internals such as foam, dividers, compartments, drawers, struts etc.

Our Foam Engineering Dept is able to craft various types of foam (PE/PU/Nitrile etc) using CNC programmed routers, band saws, slitting saws, oscillating blade cutting, or sometimes hand sculpting to achieve the exact fit required.

All designed and manufactured to meet the client’s exacting requirements.

View our range of Flight Cases.