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Author Topic: Wings  (Read 2807 times)

Offline Kamcoman77

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Re: Wings
« Reply #15 on: February 19, 2026, 08:08:05 PM »
I cut the plywood to fit against rib #8. However, it would be easy to notch the rib if you want the longer ply. I doubt it makes much difference.

Offline Brock

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Re: Wings
« Reply #16 on: February 20, 2026, 03:52:43 PM »
I measured twice but failed to check the math.  Came up short.  Will have to sleep on it to decide if I'll remake the parts or punt with some other solution/fix for these short ply pieces.

s/n: WEB-14, 3VLA
flu-flu: type of arrow that travels slow for short distance.

Offline Kamcoman77

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Re: Wings
« Reply #17 on: February 20, 2026, 04:15:17 PM »
I made mine too short also. Since the ply is epoxied to the spar and the fitting bolts over it, I decided to add a short piece butted against the larger one. Looks fine after epoxying the fitting over the ply.

Offline Brock

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Re: Wings (first assembly)
« Reply #18 on: February 26, 2026, 08:16:48 PM »
I ended up remaking the eight U-plies.  Really went quite fast (20 min?) since I already had it figured out.  Now I hope that the material I used isn't missed elsewhere down the road (er runway).

Let the fun begin!  Today I took the plung and started adding/removing/adding-again ribs to the rear spar.  What fun it is to see things come together.  After taking this pic I did find one gusset on rib #3 still needing trimming.  Ok back off they will come.  Get it right before the glueing begins.

I came up with a sort of code to mark the rear spar with.  First I numbered the location of each rib, the marked 'S' for the locations that will be modified for a compression-Strut, then marked 'K' for those that get a K-block. Marked 'D' for..... Hmmm I forgot what that stands for.  Anyway a rib like 7 had '7SK' penciled on the spar next to it's location.  That's rib 7, gets compression strut mod, and has a K block.  There may be easier ways to keep track but this seemed to help me.
s/n: WEB-14, 3VLA
flu-flu: type of arrow that travels slow for short distance.

Offline Kamcoman77

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Re: Wings
« Reply #19 on: February 26, 2026, 08:48:44 PM »
Rib #7 also needs the 1/4" ply doubler to support the inner aileron hinge block. I made mine longer than the plans show.

Offline Brock

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Re: Wings
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2026, 12:08:22 PM »
Ah, yes.  'D' for doubler.  I was thinking ribs could get glued w/o that and a lot of other items.  I do need to purchase some 1/4" plywood but am unsure what to get and where to get it.  Any advice?  I know there is a nice specialty wood store in Portland OR that I visited about 20 years ago but I've not idea what it's called or where it was.  Will have to try and find it.
s/n: WEB-14, 3VLA
flu-flu: type of arrow that travels slow for short distance.

Offline Kamcoman77

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Re: Wings
« Reply #21 on: February 27, 2026, 12:19:19 PM »
Many builders have substituted marine grade ply for aircraft grade ply. Should be several boat supply stores in Portland. I believe you may also need some 1/16" and 0.8mm ply for the outer two ribs (aileron hinge block reinforcements).

Offline Brock

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Re: Wings
« Reply #22 on: February 27, 2026, 12:50:57 PM »
Thanks for the pics, they are helpful.  One more question.  Should I remove all the gussets on one side, aft of the rear spar, on rib 7?  I would assume this needs to be done for the doubler (root side right?)
s/n: WEB-14, 3VLA
flu-flu: type of arrow that travels slow for short distance.

Offline Kamcoman77

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Re: Wings
« Reply #23 on: February 27, 2026, 12:52:28 PM »
Yes, I also put some ply on the tip side of #7. It covers the K-block

Offline Brock

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Re: Wings
« Reply #24 on: February 28, 2026, 09:39:28 PM »
Was delighted today to find that the table saw, carefully used, does a nice job on removing gussets.  This will save a lot of time with the dremel.

s/n: WEB-14, 3VLA
flu-flu: type of arrow that travels slow for short distance.

Offline jrbirdman47

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Re: Wings
« Reply #25 on: Today at 03:55:52 AM »
I set up a router table to do the same thing. Seconds to accomplish and very neat and clean results.

 

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