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Temperature Concerns for Wood Aircraft

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Tom Kay

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
409
Location
Canada
Hello Builders;

I want to ask if there are any temperature concerns, especially at the freezing end of the spectrum, when operating an all wood aircraft. Is wood more brittle when flying on a very cold day? Does the 12% moisture in the wood freeze and create problems for the wood structure?

While we're at it, how about when the aircraft is being built. Suppose it's built in a garage during the summer, and stored in the same garage in the winter? What kind of problems might I get into? Would sealing the main parts in a big plastic bag with dessicant be of any help?

The humidity in any indoor room is surely well above 12%, even in the winter, so does this mean that the wood is constantly, albiet slowly, gaining mositure as it sits in a typical room or other environment? Assume for the moment that I am not talking about a very humid location with lots of rain, such as BC Canada, the Amazon, or lots of parts of the UK. Just an "average" location.

Lastly, I would be using conventional aircraft wood with something like G-1 epoxy.

Thanks, Tom.
 
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