Originally Posted by
acdii
I think splitting the ribs up will harm the structural integrity. You dont want your spars too stiff, need to have a little flex in them or they will eventually crack. Don't overengineer something that has been around for decades without a problem. When properly built, and glued, these wings are very strong, I keep getting ribbed by my fellow flyers that my wing will come off my LT-40, but I built that wing tight and strong, with no mods, and after several hundred flights, doing things an LT-40 should not do, it is still strong. Unless you plan to dirt slam it a lot, or carry weight under the wings, just building from the kit will be good.
acdii,
Your experience is much appreciated.
Comments _ _ _
I have been considering that there would be no appreciable difference in weight.
I forgot to mention that the one piece webs would extend away from the fuselage the same as the individual webs of the drawings.
The strength of the wings lift-wise is carried entirely by the spars.
The ribs are exerting any aerodynamic forces to the spars and the airfoil would not be changed.
I have no doubt about the integrity of the present design. It seems to me however that the spars would have more strength and a negligeable added weight.
I have read, a long time ago, that the individual webs should not have their grain vertical ( as is recommended in this design ) but at a 45 degrees angle and the grain on an opposite side at 90 degrees from each other. I forget the name of this fellow from MIT ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology ).
At this stage it is just some thinking and given some consideration. If I decide to go this way the one piece web would be glued to the faces and not in between. The web would be the full thickness of the wings
The final decision can be taken when I am ready to start building the wings. Meanwhile I hope to read more from other experienced builders.
Thanks again,
Zor