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  1. VP1

    Hot Glue ‘Clecos’

    I needed a way to mock up the ailerons on my Chilton build and I found hot glue to be an excellent, easily removable way to hold things during mock up and gluing. This wouldn’t work for a pressure sensitive glue, but for end grain glue joints with T-88 it works great.
  2. VP1

    Would you rip a nice piece of spruce to laminate it?

    Just got a bunch of nice spruce for my spars and my cut schedule allows for a couple of spar caps to be either solid spruce, or I have enough extra to allow for laminating the caps out of two pieces. All of the stuff is nice and from Aircraft Spruce. I like the the idea of laminating to...
  3. VP1

    Glassing over plywood

    What is the accepted weight cloth for glassing over a ply semi-monocoque structure for finishing purposes in lieu of traditional fabric covering?
  4. VP1

    Wood Fillers

    Looking for some recommendations for an appropriate wood filler to use on my Chilton project. The majority of the plane is skinned in 1mm ply and then fabric covered. I intend for the finish to look 1930-40's period- so no need to make any surfaces look like glass however there are a few...
  5. VP1

    Bushing considerations in wing attach fittings

    Suppose you had an airplane which, for wing folding considerations, would have the outer wing panels (similar in nature to a KR-2 or say...a Chilton) removable by means of unbolting the top and bottom wing attach bolts at the outer stub spar wing attach fitting. So this would mean each wing...
  6. VP1

    Humidity and plywood skinning

    I seem to recall from an old Tony Bingellis article that it is best to ensure it is not excessively dry while skinning large surfaces with plywood. Of course we have a small Santa Ana blowing right now and the humidity is pretty low. I currently have a drywall steamer running in the shop to...
  7. VP1

    Spruce Markings

    What do you all think about this spruce? I'm refering to the dark grain line that seems to seperate the lighter from darker portion of the cap strip.
  8. VP1

    Chilton DW1 Build

    Thought I’d start a build log for my Chilton. Today started at 0630 with a 1.5 hour drive to Aircraft Spruce. Picked up all the wood for the tail plus a little extra spruce for odds and ends. Got home at 1100 and got started on the 1mm birch rib diaphragms for the tail. Ended up getting the...
  9. VP1

    A-65 Powered Homebuilts

    Looking for some designs that I could use an A-65 on. A few of my criteria include: Plans built only No composites (fairings etc. are ok, but not as the main structure) Folding wing is a plus Small size is a plus A couple of designs I'm looking at include the Davis DA-5 and the Chilton. I have...
  10. VP1

    Wing Attach Question

    I've been looking at a set of Davis DA-5 plans and had a question about his method of attaching the wings. The DA-5 uses a one piece wing with a continuous 2024 angle forming the top and bottom spar caps. The wing connects to the fuselage via aluminum angles mounted to each side of the...
  11. VP1

    Maximum tail loading

    In Stelio Frati's book The Glider, he explains how to comput the maximum load on the horizontal stabilizer. Page 9-55. He states that the maximum moment from the wing is produced during a 'no lift' vertical dive as M= .20(1.5n)QL where n= limit load Q= gross weight L= wing chord Using this...
  12. VP1

    Torque tube ailerons- How stiff is stiff enough?

    I'm familiar with the angle of twist formula- theta = TL/JG, and I have a reference for a design that uses torque tube actuated ailerons (Tailwind). I'm playing with designing a Four Runner/Tailwind/Bearhawk hybrid and torque tube ailerons sure would simplify things. My design has a gross of...
  13. VP1

    Modifying Cessna Landing Gear

    Anyone know what it'd take to modify the bends on some Cessna spring steel (the flat variety) landing gear. Are they heat treated? Looking for landing gear for a CF-4 Four Runner and C-170 and C-180/185 gear legs are very expensive. If they are long enough I'm thinking about getting a set of...
  14. VP1

    5.00 x 5 wheels on 4 seater

    Is there any reason why 5.00 x 5 wheels can not be used on a 4 seater with a gross weight of 2300 lbs? I typically see 6.00 x 6 wheels on 4 seaters. The capacity of two Grove 5.00's are a little over 2,500 lbs. I also see planes like the Glasair 3 that have a gross of 2400 lbs using 5.00's...
  15. VP1

    Nicopress on 1/8" 1x19 cable

    Has anyone had success putting nicopress fittings on 1/8" 1x19 cable? I heard it was possible but my order just came in and the cable sure is stiff. I'm thinking I'll use a pair of vice grips to bend it around the thimble. This is a furniture project so I don't need all 2100 lbs of strength the...
  16. VP1

    Bending moment in Wittman style strut braced wing

    Hello all, I should preface this by saying I'm about to start year 3 of my mechanical engineering degree so I'm still learning how to apply the principles I'm learning in school. So, I'm interested in learning how to analyze the forces at the wing root when the wing has the Wittman style of...
  17. VP1

    Substituting round tube for airfoil tube

    Hello all, I just received plans for the CF-4 Four Runner and am going through the materials needed. Much to my dismay, the wing strut material costs over $50 per foot! As you may know, Aircraft Spruce lists the equivalent round tubing dimensions for tension and compression strength. What is...
  18. VP1

    I-beam strength

    Hello, does anyone know of any free online resources to analyze a simple I-beam? Specifically I'm looking to see how a vertical load transfers into compressive and tensile loads in the spar caps. Thanks
  19. VP1

    Aircraft Design Resources

    Stumbled across this website (Daniel Webster College - Mohammad Sadraey) while doing some research. There are many complete sample chapters available to view which cover many aspects of aircraft design. Might be a good link to book mark for any aspiring designer. Anyone know of any other good...
  20. VP1

    White Lightning inspired design

    Attached is a drawing of my White Lightning inspired design. Obviously in a very early stage of dreaming here... I'm attempting to take some of the good features of the WL and apply it to what in my mind is a more practically useable design. Specifically that means fixed Wittman style landing...
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