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Foam/Plywood wings

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ragflyer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2007
Messages
701
It appears to me that the classic Rutan type foam and glass wings have never lived up to the expectation of short build times. While the part count is low and it is quick to get the basic wing done, final finishing (sanding/filling) takes a lot of time.

I have always wondered why plywood is not used in place of glass to form the outer shell over the foam. Wouldn't this reduce the finishing time dramatically?

The design I have in mind consist of two wooden spars with foam filled in between and carved to shape. The foam is then covered in plywood. The bending and shear loads are taken by the front spar, while the plywood creates a torsion box between the two spars and carries the shear loads due to torsion. The main spar could go through the fuselage attached by two shear pins. The aft spar would not go thru and be connected by a single pin at each end and would transfer the torque.

The design is kind of similar to the Rand technique except, foam covers the full depth of the wing (like Rutan) and the covering is plywood.

Any comments? Orion or others?
 
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