Here is a link to the plans for Bigger Hero. Bigger Hero Plans
Bigger Hero a 2 place simple light aircraft
- Thread starter philr
- Start date
Help Support Homebuilt Aircraft & Kit Plane Forum:
Yes folding wings is a design goal. I am working on the geometry which isn't simple on this one.
Working on how I can use the rear strut to pivot and support the wing as it folds has lead me to moving the struts to the rear tube behind the seat. I am still working out the exact location for the pivot at the wing root but it is forward of the rear spar about 10" . The front strut will be removed front and rear wing attach bolts taken out the wing will slide out 4" or so on the pivot tube leading edge pivots down then the wing swings back along the fuse. Landing gear will stay the same as per my comments below. I appreciate all the feed back you and others provide as I may not have pursued moving the wing struts to the rear otherwise.
Strut attach fittings moving to the rear bottom tube cluster to allow folding wings. The rear strut needs to rotate with the wing hence the ball linkage. I plan to use a male ball linkage threaded into a steel plate 3/4" thick welded into a 1" or so 4130 tube strut. Aluminum fairings can be attached to streamline the struts. To fold the wings the front strut can be dettached from the wing and swung forward alongside the engine. Then remove the two wing attach bolts at the fuse the wing will slide out on a tube located 11.5" forward of the rear wing attachment then the leading edge will rotate down and then swing back alongside the fuse to the rear.
It occurred to me that detaching the front strut from the fuse may be better as the front wing strut could fold up to the wing and attach there to fold with the wing. The trade of is a much longer strut keep in mind this is 2d dimensions. I am looking for advice which may be the stronger setup for flight? Yellow highlighted is the proposed geometry and red pen is current setup.
Scottiniowa
Active Member
Has anything progressed on this? Want further help? Need assistance in 3-Day CAD layout?
I would love help with the 3d. I use sketchup for my drawings and it isn't the best for what I envision. What I would like is a format that can be sent to a CAM manufacturer for those who don't want to learn to weld. This design is open source free of charge. If you can help please do!
Scottiniowa
Active Member
Message sent to Phil from Scott
Scott from irondesigniowa.com (scottiniowa user name on HBA) has offered to help with the design work for the BIGGER HERO project. Scott uses Solid Works for CAD and this offers a lot of advantages over Sketchup which I use. We are nearly finished the tube design for the Hero fuselage and then we will move on to the Bigger Hero! Thank you Scott.
