glass wings
#1
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glass wings
I note that many kits have fibreglass fuselages, but not wings. Can someone enlighten me as to why wings are still balsa or foam filed. Wouldnt a fireglass/carbon shell with a spar surfice ?
many thanks
andy barnett
many thanks
andy barnett
#2
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glass wings
Andy, a single f/g skin on its own (even with a sufficiently strong spar inside) would not work.
Effectively what we are looking at in your question is a monocoque construction and while my son understands the math behind it I haven't a hope.
There are ways of making "shell" wings. A number of the guys at AUCKSOAR have been building them for some years. The system that ANgus MacDonald was using (about two years back) was each skin (surface) being made from a sandwich of glass/carbon/glass/foam/glass (out to in). The moulds he was using must have cost a bit to start.
So, it can be done. The big thing is it is not cheap. I know of one ARF recently imported from Switzerland with monocoque wings, nearly ARF, at a cost of about USD1500 for F3J. Top line stuff, but a monetary indication of what is involved.
Effectively what we are looking at in your question is a monocoque construction and while my son understands the math behind it I haven't a hope.
There are ways of making "shell" wings. A number of the guys at AUCKSOAR have been building them for some years. The system that ANgus MacDonald was using (about two years back) was each skin (surface) being made from a sandwich of glass/carbon/glass/foam/glass (out to in). The moulds he was using must have cost a bit to start.
So, it can be done. The big thing is it is not cheap. I know of one ARF recently imported from Switzerland with monocoque wings, nearly ARF, at a cost of about USD1500 for F3J. Top line stuff, but a monetary indication of what is involved.
#3
Thread Starter
glass wings
Thanks, i presume then i should use some kind of foam to fill it, or add balsa ribs. I was intending to use CF as much as possible, to keep the strength up, in a combination of cross weave and omni directional.
andy
andy
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glass wings
The current best that I know of for wing structure techniques are the Mark Drela gliders (Allegro etc) at www.charlesriverrc.org
The structures are quite "ordinary" but certainly seem to work.
When his plans can bring a 2M RES glider at a finished weight of something like 18ozs or less and rchlgs down to about 9 oz or less there has to be something in there.
He shows his freeflight heritage with those wings - very similar to modern F1A glider structure.
The structures are quite "ordinary" but certainly seem to work.
When his plans can bring a 2M RES glider at a finished weight of something like 18ozs or less and rchlgs down to about 9 oz or less there has to be something in there.
He shows his freeflight heritage with those wings - very similar to modern F1A glider structure.
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Here's a great video
Here, (at "Soaring Stuff") you can get a really nice video on vacuum bagging composite wings.
http://www.soaringstuff.com/hollow.html
The video shows the whole process, from making plugs, to molds, to finished parts.
http://www.soaringstuff.com/hollow.html
The video shows the whole process, from making plugs, to molds, to finished parts.