In many fabric-covered, strut-braced wing designs, the leading edge wrap is there primarily for aerodynamics. That can even be the case in some cantilever designs like the Ercoupe that don’t use a D-cell spar.
The Volksplanes specify easily-dented sheet aluminum or more resilient but still fragile thin plywood, but this seems like a great application for thin fiberglass sheet or some planstic like acrylic or polycarbonate. I do wonder about varying rates of thermal expansion creating wrinkles, though.
Anyone have any experience with something other than aluminum or plywood in this sort of application?
The Volksplanes specify easily-dented sheet aluminum or more resilient but still fragile thin plywood, but this seems like a great application for thin fiberglass sheet or some planstic like acrylic or polycarbonate. I do wonder about varying rates of thermal expansion creating wrinkles, though.
Anyone have any experience with something other than aluminum or plywood in this sort of application?