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Plywood skins vs glassfibre?

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rtfm

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
3,900
Location
Brisbane, Australia
Hi,
I have been reading Alex Strojnik's excellent book - "Laminar Aircraft Design" - and came across the following:

"The plywood nose covering [ie over nose, backward to possibly the aileron auxiliary spar - my comment] is, if done properly, one of the best skins available to the homebuilder. It is not generally known, but plywood represents by far - repeat: by far the best material for shearing loads considering its weight" (pg 155)

"The today solution would be a thin fibreglass cloth cover that would provide both an outstanding mechanical, chemical and biological protection, as well as produce an outstandingly smooth surface." (pg 156)

If this is the case, I am thinking that I might use aircraft grade plywood for my wing skins.

Does anyone have any experience with this arrangement? Anyone have any views on the suitability of this configuration?

Looking forward to your feedback,
Duncan
 
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