Hi all. On a wing with a straight taper (or a constant chord too ) if the root chord thickness is 15% and the tip chord thickness is 10%, then in a wing with 11 evenly spaced ribs, each rib would have its %thickness reduced by 0.5% to produce a wing with a straight upper and lower surface in the spanwise direction. i.e. curved in a single plain.
So my question is, What happens on an eliptical planform wing. If the evenly spaced ribs still reduce in thickness in a linear fashion then the upper and lower surface of the wings will also be curved in a spanwise direction producing a surface with a compound curve. So do you reduce the % thickness in a non linear fahion to produce a wing surface without a compound curve. What happens in full size practice and is it possible to sheet built-up model wings at say 1/5 scale with a compound curve.
Any thoughts? Cheers, Rob.