Hey all
While doing research on the Tipsy Nipper I came across an interesting photo and story about about a Tipsy owner that experienced aft fuselage twist during high G maneuvers. The following photo shows the fabric twisting when the pilot applies rudder. These airplanes have a very good reputation for safety and are built for aerobatics when built correctly. When another pilot noticed the twist it was realized after some research that the previous owner while restoring the airplane had removed the cross bracing.
The cross bracing is a little different than most airplanes. The designer uses wire stretched and welded to load points working its way back to the tail in one piece. It was revealed under close investigation that the fella had ground the wires off at some point in the aircrafts life and the new owner wasn't the wiser.
Some friends of mine have old biplanes from the 1920's and the fuselages have cables connected to welded tabs, using wire would be much lighter when you consider all the weight of the turnbuckles.
I thought forum members would find this interesting. Mike
While doing research on the Tipsy Nipper I came across an interesting photo and story about about a Tipsy owner that experienced aft fuselage twist during high G maneuvers. The following photo shows the fabric twisting when the pilot applies rudder. These airplanes have a very good reputation for safety and are built for aerobatics when built correctly. When another pilot noticed the twist it was realized after some research that the previous owner while restoring the airplane had removed the cross bracing.
The cross bracing is a little different than most airplanes. The designer uses wire stretched and welded to load points working its way back to the tail in one piece. It was revealed under close investigation that the fella had ground the wires off at some point in the aircrafts life and the new owner wasn't the wiser.
Some friends of mine have old biplanes from the 1920's and the fuselages have cables connected to welded tabs, using wire would be much lighter when you consider all the weight of the turnbuckles.
I thought forum members would find this interesting. Mike
