ejbrush
New Member
Hello-
I have been lurking at this site for some time, but haven't had a question worth taking the plunge on until today.
What would be the upper limit (in terms of aircraft weight) of the "tube and batten" pattern wing seen in ultralight aircraft, i.e, Quicksilver MX and MX2? Would a two-seater, similar in size to a Pietenpol Air Camper be practical?
What I'm thinking about is the very basic single-surfaced wing made up of a leading edge spar tube, a trailing edge spar tube, straight compression struts establishing the chord with bent aluminum tube rib "battens" residing in pockets sewn into the Dacron sail creating the airfoil. Entirely externally wire braced. Trailing edge ailerons or spoilers.
I'm not talking about using ultralight components or materials - just the pattern of wing construction, appropiatly heavier and or stronger as needed for the load expected. But simple and economical to build.
To my eyes, this pattern of wing construction seems conceptually similar to the wings of the pre-WW1 era, which also were very thin with pronounced undercamber - i.e., Bleriot, Fokker monoplanes, Morane Saulner monoplanes. The spars in these wings were not necessarily at the leading and trailing edges, but they were very thin and mostly there to establish spacing for the ribs. The majority of the load is taken up by flying wires.
I realize that wire bracing is draggy. I'm really just woolgathering here. Saw some photographs of the Morane Saulner L over the weekend and couldn't help comparing the my brother's Quicksilver (and it's maze of bracing wires) to the old machine.
I have been lurking at this site for some time, but haven't had a question worth taking the plunge on until today.
What would be the upper limit (in terms of aircraft weight) of the "tube and batten" pattern wing seen in ultralight aircraft, i.e, Quicksilver MX and MX2? Would a two-seater, similar in size to a Pietenpol Air Camper be practical?
What I'm thinking about is the very basic single-surfaced wing made up of a leading edge spar tube, a trailing edge spar tube, straight compression struts establishing the chord with bent aluminum tube rib "battens" residing in pockets sewn into the Dacron sail creating the airfoil. Entirely externally wire braced. Trailing edge ailerons or spoilers.
I'm not talking about using ultralight components or materials - just the pattern of wing construction, appropiatly heavier and or stronger as needed for the load expected. But simple and economical to build.
To my eyes, this pattern of wing construction seems conceptually similar to the wings of the pre-WW1 era, which also were very thin with pronounced undercamber - i.e., Bleriot, Fokker monoplanes, Morane Saulner monoplanes. The spars in these wings were not necessarily at the leading and trailing edges, but they were very thin and mostly there to establish spacing for the ribs. The majority of the load is taken up by flying wires.
I realize that wire bracing is draggy. I'm really just woolgathering here. Saw some photographs of the Morane Saulner L over the weekend and couldn't help comparing the my brother's Quicksilver (and it's maze of bracing wires) to the old machine.
