jgnunn
Well-Known Member
hi. We have a discussion going on in our biplane forum, and i thought id get some input from you guys:
on the skybolt, the leading edge on the wings is covered in 1/16 ply. This is wrapped over the nose and finishes at the rear of the front spar. Usually fixed with t-88. This then in effect seals the ply creating a rigid D-cell. The discussion is whether this D-cell should have drain holes or not. My take was that if its sealed why drill a drain hole. Then someone interestingly mentioned about venting...if you fly at say 6000ft, the pressure changes, resulting in a psi change in the D-cell, so venting helps relieve this. This sounds logical to me, but I had assumed that the altitudes we fly in biplanes wouldn't have any detrimental effect on the sealed cell. I could be wrong...
any thoughts on this?
on the skybolt, the leading edge on the wings is covered in 1/16 ply. This is wrapped over the nose and finishes at the rear of the front spar. Usually fixed with t-88. This then in effect seals the ply creating a rigid D-cell. The discussion is whether this D-cell should have drain holes or not. My take was that if its sealed why drill a drain hole. Then someone interestingly mentioned about venting...if you fly at say 6000ft, the pressure changes, resulting in a psi change in the D-cell, so venting helps relieve this. This sounds logical to me, but I had assumed that the altitudes we fly in biplanes wouldn't have any detrimental effect on the sealed cell. I could be wrong...
any thoughts on this?