U
Ulsterman_UK
Hi guys,
I am pretty new to this forum but I was wondering if you could help me? I am a final year student at University studying Aerospace Engineering. As part of my final year project I am re-designing a microlight (ultralight) aircraft (lecturers design) using composites, the aircraft at present is all aluminium. Basically, we have decided to go down the route of the C42 Ikarus as far as the fuselage construction is concerned, i.e. a main load bearing aluminium boom and frame with an E-glass fuselage skin (this has been dictated to us). However the wing has been a pain. We have been told to look at all foam construction, just like Rutan's design. I noticed in one of these threads entitled "Spar-less wing" some posters talk about similar ideas. We were thinking of an all foam wing box (with the load bearing boom "sunk" into it) adhesively bonded and glassed. Then the wings, (not a monoplane but two distinct wings) attached to the foam wing box possibly adhesively bonded to the foam wing box using something like a scarf joint at the wing/wing box joint. The wings themselves being foam (acting as the shear web) glassed with S-glass. We calculated that each wing would be about 3.35 metres (10.99ft) each, this is the wing span (7.9m or 26ft) minus the wing box width divided by two. However, we are not sure if it is possible to hot-wire something of this size, nor are we sure that you can even get foam blocks of this size or whether this kind of design is feasible!? We were thinking that if it is not possible to hot wire cut a wing of this size then maybe it could be done in two sections then joined in a similar fashion to the wing/wing box junction using a scarf joint? Any info or a pointer in the right direction would be greatly appreciated, it is so difficult to find information of this sort anywhere!!!!
Thanks in advance!
I am pretty new to this forum but I was wondering if you could help me? I am a final year student at University studying Aerospace Engineering. As part of my final year project I am re-designing a microlight (ultralight) aircraft (lecturers design) using composites, the aircraft at present is all aluminium. Basically, we have decided to go down the route of the C42 Ikarus as far as the fuselage construction is concerned, i.e. a main load bearing aluminium boom and frame with an E-glass fuselage skin (this has been dictated to us). However the wing has been a pain. We have been told to look at all foam construction, just like Rutan's design. I noticed in one of these threads entitled "Spar-less wing" some posters talk about similar ideas. We were thinking of an all foam wing box (with the load bearing boom "sunk" into it) adhesively bonded and glassed. Then the wings, (not a monoplane but two distinct wings) attached to the foam wing box possibly adhesively bonded to the foam wing box using something like a scarf joint at the wing/wing box joint. The wings themselves being foam (acting as the shear web) glassed with S-glass. We calculated that each wing would be about 3.35 metres (10.99ft) each, this is the wing span (7.9m or 26ft) minus the wing box width divided by two. However, we are not sure if it is possible to hot-wire something of this size, nor are we sure that you can even get foam blocks of this size or whether this kind of design is feasible!? We were thinking that if it is not possible to hot wire cut a wing of this size then maybe it could be done in two sections then joined in a similar fashion to the wing/wing box junction using a scarf joint? Any info or a pointer in the right direction would be greatly appreciated, it is so difficult to find information of this sort anywhere!!!!
Thanks in advance!
