glassing center of wing?
 

Hello fellow builders. I've built several kits and scatch builds over years and have always glassed the center of the wing. I was told to do this when I first started building by people with much more experience than I. So i've always just done it, does it really add strenght?

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

In a word, yes. Good Luck, Dave

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

I've bult a few kits & repaired more than I should've ( I have dumb thumbs!!) I had a80" wsp Curtis Robbins cartwheel down the runway & it tore the wings off @ I repeat @ the edge of my fiberglass reinforcement. I always use fiberglass & resin on my wing joint.

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

For newbies like me, it keeps the rubberbands from digging into the wing balsa if the center fiberglass strip is say 5 inches wide.

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

Thanks for the input,I guess I'm off to do some glassing.

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

When I was a kid years ago I saw some trainer making a shallow dive about 45 degrees angle, during this dive its wing has collapsed/snapped in the middle and the plane dove into the ground. Then we had to dig the engine out of the dirt.
Ever since that day I fiberglass the middle of every wing I have from both sides!

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

fiorelli,
On some kits it's absolutely necessary to glass them because that is how the wing is designed. A perfect example is the Ultra Sport 40/60. The wing is designed to have that fiberglass there and without it the wing will break in two. Other wings can get by without it if that is how they were designed. But it's always better to err on the side of caution and glass it!! ;)

ken

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

Just came down from the shop. This morning I sanded and covered the wing I glassed the center of last night. I do feel more confident about taking those extra steps. Iv'e never folded a wing , with out hitting somthing with it, this is my daughters plane she would really be heart broken from a wing failure. A Seniorita isn't the toughest of planes, but it'll fly slow enough for her to keep up with. I know they have plenty of streangth in the air, but trees really rekit them quite nicely. Thanks for the info.

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

An experienced builder gave me this tip-when glassing a wing-which he always did-start with a 1-1/2" strip, then add a 2-1/2" strip-and then add a 3-1/2" strip using 3/4 oz cloth-this way the edges are hidden and you get a nice taper. Course the weight of cloth and strip widths would vary based on size of aircraft, but you get the general idea. Most of the time the center seam needs to be covered over anyway, so why not glass?? Sure adds a lot of strength for very little weight. Kinda of like-do you need shear webs in a wing-lots of strength for very little weight. I am all about building light, but also having a strong aircraft that can take a few "wild rides".

RE: glassing center of wing?
 

I am with Ken. If I remember correctly some of the Great Planes kit had no dihedral brace. The wing halves just butted together. With out the glass it would be short lived.

David