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  1. P

    Skin friction on fabric covered aircraft

    Metalized Stinsons never performed as well as fabric ones, partly due to weight. A very experianced older AME told me he didn't think stall fences were needed or helpful on fabric wings. His theory was the collective effect of the shape at each rib, compounded, and did the same thing. Just for...
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    Nicopress swaging tools

    That Cleco Tool idea is great! Here are some other ideas. https://www.biplaneforum.com/threads/control-cable-tools.23550/
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    Steel vs Aluminum Rivets

    I think the statement that Avex rivets are "non structural" was created by their lawyers to deflect liability. All rivets are structural, they hold parts together, you just have to define how much load each rivet needs to carry, + safety factor, and whether the rivet selected is capable of...
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    Steel vs Aluminum Rivets

    With respect, you need to do more research and get better advisors. 5052 is not good structural material and I have never heard of it used for ribs or any other structure. 6061T6 is great, and more forgiving, easier to handle for homebuilders. Do NOT use heat to bend 6061, heat will ruin it...
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    Holy cow

    Years ago I had a friend with a Cap 10, same issue. I got a set of Cleveland caliper pads, redrilled and a bit of grinding on the edge, and riveted onto his plates. Worked great. It would take a forensic lab to determine they were not the originals.
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    Early Ice Fishing Bid Dunks 172

    I've landed on glare lake ice many times. No problem spinning a 172 around with power, like a ground loop, and using thrust to stop, just have to be prepared to do it, and be sure there are no ruts to snag the gear when sideways.
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    Aircraft Hangar Lift Help

    An uneducated line of thought. An I beam could work but will be torsionally flexible. I am (slowly) building the same thing with a rectangular tube, 1/2" wall. The idea is fairly simple. I was going to use a trolley with bearings as in the drawing. I have built smaller versions for fuselage...
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    Weld HDPE?

    My son has a plastic tube dock business. I have been very involved in it with him. We started welding HDPE with a $10,000.00 hot air extrusion gun. It has an extruder that pushes out melted plastic, a hot air heater/blower to premelt the base material, and teflon shoe to apply pressure. All...
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    Hose fitting

    I use these with straight fittings on the hose. Amazon Aviation Dept.
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    Plans for De Havilland Beaver, Nooduyn Norseman or similar

    search ebay, beaver drawings are available on disc.
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    Free-blowing a bulged bubble canopy?

    Sourcing is a majour pita, that's why companies have full time purchasing departments, and it's getting worse. I buy from a few suppliers in Toronto, one is Laird Plastics. I called them and they said the closest Laird to you (Geosnooker2000 Somerville TN) is Louisville, KY, or Atlanta, GA ...
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    Free-blowing a bulged bubble canopy?

    You guys are thinking too hard, working too hard, and solving problems that don't exist. Plain old fiberglass, no backing, works perfect and is cheap. I have 30 year old ovens that work as good now as when I built them.:eek:
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    Free-blowing a bulged bubble canopy?

    Matthew, The thinner the inner lining the better, less thermal mass/inertia, heats up easier. I used old galvanized roofing tin .020 thick for the bigger ovens, seal nail holes with red silicone. For the smaller windshield oven, 5'x4'x7', I used old aluminum "press plates" .010 thick. No tapes...
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    Free-blowing a bulged bubble canopy?

    I don't know why anyone would use any foam as insulation in an oven. If you have a runaway control event the foam will give off toxic gas. Regular pink home fiberglass insulation works great, and is fire proof. I have built half a dozen ovens with it, the biggest one being 8'x8'x24', 2 million...
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    Free-blowing a bulged bubble canopy?

    Matthew you are on the right track. A few notes, plexiglass forming is an art, you will scrap sheets fine tuning it. It is extremely EXTREMELY time consuming ( read impossible) to make a mold that doesn't have optical distortion. Any setup for molding or blowing will take time, but that time...
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    Chemical Exposure Discussion

    Stanislavz, where do you get the crude oil? From Post # 28 "I do some lathe work, and all lubrication up here is done by this "crude oil" "
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    Can wonder woman have her plane now?

    Sorry to bring it back to transparent covering, I'm interested because I thought it would be a good display when I finish my big Bush Plane. The early Lazair used a clear cover, I think I remember it was Mylar, but I don't know how it was attached or it's lifespan.
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    The future of Wood.

    I restored a 1946 J3 30 years ago. As far as I could tell the spars were factory original. They were laminated both in thickness, ~3/8" , and length with staggered scarf joints. I don't think there was a piece longer than 6' in them. They were straight and in great shape. I asked a homebuilt...
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    Questions on "Simplified Wing Stress Analysis of A Strut Braced Monoplane"

    Thanks guys, especially BobDaly! That removes a lot of guess work for me, now back to more number crunching.
  20. P

    Questions on "Simplified Wing Stress Analysis of A Strut Braced Monoplane"

    I wish the formulas were included in the paper for those values, these missing links probably jeopardize the usefulness for modifying dimensions. Has anyone worked through this analysis?
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