Postby David Jones » October 18th, 2010, 5:09 pm
The decision regarding “do we have a fixed wing or a removable wing” has always been a topic of conversation and lengthy discussion re the pro’s and con’s of the build. As far as the build is concerned it doesn’t matter, it’s as easy to make the wing removable as it is to have it permanently fixed. It’s when it comes to storage and transportation that the subject takes on a new meaning.
Alan wanted a permanently fixed centre section because he felt that it would be truer and stronger and, having seen the model at the various shows, it wasn’t really that big, was it? Well, seeing the thing put together on the work bench, you do have to admit, size does matter!!
The plans show that the wing is either, fixed and glued to both the lower and upper wing seats, with access to the interior of the fuse through the bomb bay doors or, removable, with the wing bolted to the upper wing seats, the section of fuselage below the wing being independent of the rest of the fuse.
Sticking rigidly to the plans and construction notes, it looked as though we were committed to having a fixed wing but, why couldn’t we have the wing bolted to the lower wing seats and have the top of the fuse independent from the rest of the fuselage instead?
I could stiffen up the bottom of the fuse in the bomb bay area by adding doublers to the formers and extending the stringers through a bay either side and then completing the sheeting to make it a solid structure again.
I decided first to install the hardwood blocks in the centre section as per the plan. These were adapted to accept the wing bolts from the top instead of from the bottom. The plan shows the wing bolts are screwed into tapped hardwood blocks glued between the parallel lite ply wing seats. I decided that I would fit two 1/4” plywood plates across the full width of the fuse and fit 6mm captive nuts.
The gap between the wing seats was then in filled with 5/16” sheet balsa, giving a 1” wide seat along both sides. This made the fuselage beneath the wing very strong and rigid, and I was able to dispense with the crutch cross pieces, giving better access to the interior of the fuselage.
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