Hi guys It is my plan to put full length wing tanks inside my wings between the spars but because it is common practice here to use polystyrene for a core and we all know what happens to poly foam when it even smells fuel, I have been trying to come up with a way to get rid of foam all together without having to produce a set of molds. I think I have a plan.
The cores are hot-wired from foam blocks as usual but the core that we would normally use is discarded. The "female" form, which is cut with the washout already set in it laid out on a flat table. A thin sheet of mylar or similar is cut to the required dimensions and laid inside the foam form. Glass is then laid up on that with a core material. The skins can be made in three pieces: D box, centre section and trailing edge, all with "overlap" for bonding over the spars. All these can be bonded together over the spars. This method, if done carefully and accurately should produce a pretty fair wing skin that is strong, light and need very little fairing. Final washout can still be tweaked at final bonding. Any thoughts? Regards Dene Collett Avlec Projects cc Builders of award winning aircraft tel:27419560048 cell: 27845805003 Port Elizabeth South Africa
