bfd04

I am in the process of building another TF Texan and I have a question on sheeting and wing thickness. I have just found a very thin g10 fiberglass sheeting that I was going to use to sheet my wings. I am wondering will i change the wings effectiveness if the thickness decreases? Plan calls for 3/16 balsa the g-10 is .012". Will the difference hurt the lift of the wing? I never really get into the science I just like to start it and fly, something is nagging me about the change so I want to be sure before I change it.

Thanks

John

Dr1Driver

A thinner wing will not generate as much lift, and it might land hotter. You'll also have to recut the wing saddles. Why not use 1/16" balsa to sheet and Fiberglas over that?

Dr.1

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

My opinion is that you will not see a difference at all in the way it flies by making this change. You say 3/16, did you intend to say 3/32? However, just curious, why do you not want to sheet the wing with balsa?

bfd04

yes i did mean 3/32 not 3/16. I wanted to try something different from the norm. Everyone sheets with balsa and then glasses over that. Just looking to go in a different direction.

jrcaster

The reason that you sheet with balsa and then glass over it is to have a rib-less appearing wing. Glass over an open framework will look just like a monokote job over open framework. On the leading edges it will sink in quite a bit similar to a Goldberg Eagle 2 wing. Plus you would have to do the job in two steps, tack down and let dry to stretch the covering, and then soak the glass in the next step.

horace315

My Feedback: (15)

i agree there wont be any difference in lift or performance and the difference of the wing saddles can be made up with saddle tape.i think the smoother flight suffices are the better,less drag.

bfd04

Thanks for all the info. I am still not sure if I am going to do it this way but now I have the knowlege to make an informed decision.

John

saramos

There's a product very similar to G10 called FliteSkin. It comes in various thickesses. I just picked up some to check out. As for your specific question about the effects of the thinner material, I doubt the differences would be very siginficant. As horace said, if needed, adjustment of the wing saddle could be done with saddle tape or if making a tighter fittng saddle, with microballoons. One issue is that the G10 will not conform well to compound curves. Curvature in one direction will be no problem, but you may run into problems if you try to carry the G10 all the way out to the wingtips. If there is a very slight curve of the wing from root to tip, begin gluing the skin in the middle, and work your way towards both the tip and the root. This will spread the stress over the entire length of the skin. If you start gluing the skin at the root, and work all the way to the tip, the stress of the compound curve will build up more as you approach the tip. I suspect the wing on the Texan has a constant taper and shouldn't pose a problem, but with a wing like on the spitfire, it could be difficult to skin with G10. The FliteSkin website recommends using a urethane glue (Gorilla Glue) and sand bags for weights. Check out their website at: www.fliteskin.com

Scott