E28POWERM20
Well-Known Member
Ragwing wood recomendation
I'll be starting a Ragwing RW11 Ragabond built in a few months. I'm currently researching wood options and trying to determine the ideal wood for the majority of the airframe. Sitka Spruce being the obvious choice, but expensive. The other options locally(Portland, Oregon) are Eastern White Pine, Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir, and also Sitka Spruce(quality unknown). The empty weight of the RW11 is listed as 425lbs, but Roger doesn't list wha wood was used to come to that number. I don't want to use a strong but heavy wood and destroy my useful load. Am I overthinking this?
Western Hemlock was my first choice, due to it's strength/weight ratio. It's grown locally, and I can also get very nice boards from Lowes/Home Depot, that are <1 mile from my house. Re-sawing to size is not a problem either.
Thoughts? I know this subject has been beaten to death, but I want to make sure I'm making the right decision considering how important this subject is.
Ian
Also, is it reasonable to increase the gross weight based on the strength of the wood? Example: Western Hemlock is about 14% stronger than Sitka Spruce, but only 7% heavier. Could I increase gross weight by 7%? I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
I'll be starting a Ragwing RW11 Ragabond built in a few months. I'm currently researching wood options and trying to determine the ideal wood for the majority of the airframe. Sitka Spruce being the obvious choice, but expensive. The other options locally(Portland, Oregon) are Eastern White Pine, Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir, and also Sitka Spruce(quality unknown). The empty weight of the RW11 is listed as 425lbs, but Roger doesn't list wha wood was used to come to that number. I don't want to use a strong but heavy wood and destroy my useful load. Am I overthinking this?
Western Hemlock was my first choice, due to it's strength/weight ratio. It's grown locally, and I can also get very nice boards from Lowes/Home Depot, that are <1 mile from my house. Re-sawing to size is not a problem either.
Thoughts? I know this subject has been beaten to death, but I want to make sure I'm making the right decision considering how important this subject is.
Ian
Also, is it reasonable to increase the gross weight based on the strength of the wood? Example: Western Hemlock is about 14% stronger than Sitka Spruce, but only 7% heavier. Could I increase gross weight by 7%? I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
Last edited:
