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  1. birdus

    Bronze vs. sealed precision bearings for control surface hinges

    Are sealed precision bearings ever used for control surface hinges? If not, why not? Seems like they ought to provide the smoothest, lowest drag movement.
  2. birdus

    Transferring Drawings to the Table

    How does one transfer from the plans to the work bench without destroying the original plans? Obviously, this is for the full-size bits in the drawings.
  3. birdus

    Broken drag wire

    While building the wings for my Baby Great Lakes, one of the drag/anti-drag wires broke at the end of the thread (not a shock as far as location). They are made of 5052 aluminum (as called out in the plans). Should I be worried? If I'm going to redo all of them in steel, now is the time, before...
  4. birdus

    How to dimple in a small hole

    I've got a 3 1/8" hole. A normal (I think) dimpler is too big to dimple the rivets around the hole, as the "C" part of it bumps into the opposite side of the hole and/or the rivet holes are too close to the hole perimeter (I have one of these, by the way, and it has worked well for some other...
  5. birdus

    Rivet size and spacing

    I'm going to patch up some fuselage damage. I'm planning on using a 3 1/8" instrument panel punch to eliminate the damaged area (that's just barely big enough, just about perfect), then using a backer, along with plug to fill that hole for aesthetic reasons. To add a backer to non-structural...
  6. birdus

    Sealant between aluminum

    I need to create a patch with a filler piece riveted to a backer with the backer riveted to the fuselage. The material will be .032" 2024. Should I use some kind of sealant between the pieces, or will the (flush) rivets prevent the ingress of rain? Thanks, Jay
  7. birdus

    Wing design for lightest possible wing

    If I wanted to build the lightest possible wing, how would it be constructed? For my sake, I'm thinking about a strut-braced wing, a la Luscombe 8 or Cessna 152. I'm thinking that the spars would be according to Jim Marske's designs: composite web or sandwich web, with the caps being made from...
  8. birdus

    Foam of choice for sandwich airplane construction

    I'm just getting into composite construction (and having lots o' fun learning) and don't know what the foam of choice is for fuselage and wing panels. This is for my F4U (AKA "Carbon Corsair") project. There's blue, yellow, PVC, Divinycell, Last-a-foam, 3lb, 4lb, 5bl, etc., etc., etc. I'm a long...
  9. birdus

    F4U Corsair wing design

    Do the inboard sections of the F4U Corsair wing provide disproportionately less lift than the outboard sections, due to their steeper dihedral and the ductwork (oil cooler/supercharger inlets) on the leading edge? If so, any guesses as to how much I should increase the total span on my 70% F4U...
  10. birdus

    Process for determining cloth/foam thicknesses in sandwich fuselage?

    What is the basic process for determining the weights and numbers of plies (and direction of those layers) of carbon fiber fabric (both external and internal) and thickness of foam for layup of a fuselage and wing panels? What are things I need to know and questions I need to answer as I work...
  11. birdus

    Do I need longerons?

    For a fuselage (mostly tubular in shape) which will be made from carbon fiber/foam sandwich, is there any particular need for longerons? Thanks, Jay
  12. birdus

    General Design Questions for Project

    I'm working on designing a 70% F4U Corsair made of carbon fiber. I asked a question in another thread regarding foam vs. honeycomb. The conversation drifted into more general design, so I'm moving that conversation here. Following is where the thread was heading. But first, some basic ideas...
  13. birdus

    Foam vs. honeycomb for carbon fiber sandwich

    What are pros and cons of using foam vs. honeycomb (nomex) when building carbon fiber sandwich panels for wings and fuselage? One concern I have is getting foam to bend to fit curves since it's stiff. Thanks, Jay
  14. birdus

    Welding different steels together

    I'm working on designing a tail wheel (the "brackets", not the wheel—is there a name for that?). I've got some 4130 and was hoping I could pick up some additional mild steel at the local metal yard to complete the assembly. Would there be a problem welding other steels to 4130? Specifically, I...
  15. birdus

    Joining Two Composite I-beams at an Angle

    Didn't know whether to put this in composites or in design, so I just picked one. Let me explain the scenario. I have two I-beams. Butt them up against each other as if to form a longer I-beam, then tilt them at an angle, say 40 degrees. Specifically, I'm talking about a spar for an inverted...
  16. birdus

    Fuel Tank Location

    If there's plenty of room in the fuselage between the cockpit and the firewall, is there any reason to put fuel tanks in the wings? The simplicity of having one, big fuel tank in the forward part of the fuselage (over the main spar, or so) makes sense to me. Thanks, Jay
  17. birdus

    GA Airfoils and Cusps

    I'm going through the book GA Airfoils by Harry Riblett. Just trying to pick an airfoil for the plane I'm designing. One thing he talks about in the book is "cusps." Some of his airfoils have them and some don't. He says: "...the characteristics of the cusp type sections are not shown; however...
  18. birdus

    What determines VNE?

    Assuming excess thrust, what determines VNE? Airfoil choice? Flutter of the control surfaces? Other things? I have a single engine prop plane in mind, like a Mooney or a T-51 (i.e., not a supersonic jet).
  19. birdus

    Vertical Stabilizer Offset

    What is the purpose of vertical stabilizer offset (i.e., mounting the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer off to one side)? How does a more powerful engine affect this? How does a higher cruise speed affect this?
  20. birdus

    Odd sized reamer required for rudder/brake pedals???

    So I did my first welding job—rudder pedals and brake pedals for my Super Baby Great Lakes. Turned our pretty good. Then, yesterday, a nice new 3/4" reamer came in the mail from Grizzly. I reamed out the 7/8" tube of the brake pedals and slid them right onto the rudder pedals. Perfect fit...
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