I'm considering whether a steel tube wing center section would be a good design choice for my needs.
My rough design is a two seat tandem tail dragger similar in size and seating to an RV-4. I'm thinking steel tube fuselage and a cantilever wing incorporating retractable main gear.
Could a steel tube wing center section be beneficial to my design?
The benefits I'm considering are-
- Lower structural volume to strength ratio. I think the steel tube structure would allow for more easily incorporated main landing gear when retracted.
- Landing gear mechanism could be installed in the center section which in my mind would be easier to make/install, and lighter than making a wooden structure of similar strength.
- Better crash worthiness than wood
- Incorporating the center section into the fuselage means no heavy brackets needed to attach the wing to the fuselage.
But now I must admit that I love working with wood and am considering it for the wing panels.
By not having to incorporate the landing gear into it the main panels could be made much lighter than otherwise.
The biggest downside to this I see is that the wing panels will need heavy metal fittings to attach to the center section. I think that use of simple strap type fittings similar to use in KR airplanes and the fact that the attachment point is out at least a few feet from the fuselage (thus reducing the load it sees), will allow the fittings to still remain relatively light.
Any thoughts about this?
-Todd
My rough design is a two seat tandem tail dragger similar in size and seating to an RV-4. I'm thinking steel tube fuselage and a cantilever wing incorporating retractable main gear.
Could a steel tube wing center section be beneficial to my design?
The benefits I'm considering are-
- Lower structural volume to strength ratio. I think the steel tube structure would allow for more easily incorporated main landing gear when retracted.
- Landing gear mechanism could be installed in the center section which in my mind would be easier to make/install, and lighter than making a wooden structure of similar strength.
- Better crash worthiness than wood
- Incorporating the center section into the fuselage means no heavy brackets needed to attach the wing to the fuselage.
But now I must admit that I love working with wood and am considering it for the wing panels.
By not having to incorporate the landing gear into it the main panels could be made much lighter than otherwise.
The biggest downside to this I see is that the wing panels will need heavy metal fittings to attach to the center section. I think that use of simple strap type fittings similar to use in KR airplanes and the fact that the attachment point is out at least a few feet from the fuselage (thus reducing the load it sees), will allow the fittings to still remain relatively light.
Any thoughts about this?
-Todd
