Wing building

[Bob Richards]

IHMO, if wing tubes are being bent (and there are reports to that effect) then the plywood support ribs are a moot point.
 
If we go to stronger wing tubes, then the weak point will move somewhere else, probably the ribs or whatever is used to support the wing tubes.
 
It appears to me that over the last 10 years, a lot of effort has been put into designing weight out of our planes. It all started, or certainly escalated, when the engine size restriction was lifted. I remember thinking at the time that people would use the biggest engines they could shoehorn into the plane, and the airframe strength was going to be compromised to stay under the weight limit as a result.
 
There have not been, to my knowledge, very many in-flight structural failures, so we keep shaving stuff off our airframes. Now we have a schedule with a real stresser of a maneuver. Snap -- literally! Guess we need to put something back in the plane!
 
I also think it was interesting that none of the pattern planes were 2m UNTIL there was a 2m limit. Nevermind that we did not have the horsepower to effectively fly a plane that size, or that a 2m airframe was even optimal, all of a sudden everyone had to have a 2m plane.
 
The F8F Bearcat from WWII had wingtips that were designed to blow off if the stress limit of the plane was exceeded. Maybe that is what we need now. :-)
 
Bob Richards.

 
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