Wet W10 wings anyone?

W-8, W-9, W-10, Tailwind and Buttercup
eschlanser
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Re: Wet W10 wings anyone?

Post by eschlanser »

gerryvandyk wrote:Where in heaven's name is all your negativity coming from? Solving the 'problems' you cite are truely trivial.



Build a tank baffle in at each rib location (wing rib inside the tank instead of outside), add a cap strip outside the tank to take the sheeting. If the tank is build accurately to the rib shape just glue the sheeting direct to the tank skin.



As for the spar, the 1-1/4" x 5" deep douglas fir spar is ludicrously overbuilt in the first place.
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Not only did Jim Rust work for Whirlwind Propellers but he founded the company. He is an aeronautical engineer by training and trade. His Tailwind is a cut above the usual example. Specifically, the wet wings are proven to have the range allow him to go non-stop western Arizona to Baraboo, WI (near Oshkosh). If you have never croissed the country in a small airplane and all you do is puddle jump to nearby fields, then you don't know what it means to have that kind of range. Just because you want fly for short jaunts, don't knock the guy who wants to go long distances non -stop. If you want to go slow and stop every 200 miles it's a different mission. Nothing wrong with that either. Everything in its place. Different strokes for different folks, etc, etc.

Sincerely,
Eric S
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This is Jim Rust's tailwind, he works for Whirlwind Propellers and he's no dummy. I believe he's been flying it for some years now.



Regards

Gerry


Aerco wrote:Unless that tank is strong enough to handle air loads and can transfer those air loads into the spars efficiently, that is a disaster waiting to happen. Wing ribs have a function - you cannot simply delete most of them and count on the skins alone to transfer loads to the spars. Plus the skins would have nothing to stabilize them and buckle all over the place at the lightest of loads. This is not a well-thought out idea.
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planecrazzzy
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Re: Wet W10 wings anyone?

Post by planecrazzzy »

I found more pictures... I don't know if this ones the same.... I don't think it is...

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Mike & "Jaz" in MN
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trackwelder
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Re: Wet W10 wings anyone?

Post by trackwelder »

Knowing what I have been able to find out about Spars, I would say that Steve did very little engineering on there strength, He went with what was out there and used them, Spruce was cheaper and easier to find when he built his planes, if not I think he would have been the first to use a beam or a box spar to lighten the load, I think some of those wing tanks are ridiculously large, but putting 15 gallons per side would only take 3 bays each, and the weight would remain close to the center of balance. since the plane was built to fly with down to minimum fuel in the tank, I am thinking about trying wing mounted tanks, I have not covered my wings yet, and I am not sure wether to run tubes through the wing to run the cables or to trust in the strength of a baffled tank to take the load. I am new to welding aluminum and so this will be a bigger project, but I am also able to practice with my Tig welder and weld up aluminum tanks, My other aircraft used a cowl mounted tank in its first build and then was switched to wing tanks bonded to the spars in the rest of the designs, An Avid Flyer/ Kitfox design that I have built from scratch as time has allowed. the wing on a Buttercup or Tailwind is not that high up and would keep fuel off of the windshield.
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