Hi Mark, That means individuals cannot do it alone anymore.
On Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 3:13 AM, Mark Langford via KRnet <krnet at list.krnet.org> wrote: <snipped...> > > So yes, carbon fiber spars will almost certainly require more work than you > can imagine to get past Engineering. The few pounds you will save in the > effort will likely cost years and thousands of BP. But some people enjoy > the chase and the sense of accomplishment at pulling it off, so feel free to > blaze a trail for us... > I designed a small wing with big flaps. Actually double flaps and it needs the rigidity of carbon fiber to work. The root chord is 38 inches and the tip is 24 inches. Wood just doesnt cut it for a max gross of 900 lbs and a load factor of 7 G. A quarter inch thick 4 inch wide cf spar cap is already overkill and that's way lighter than wood. Besides Sitka Spruce is already approaching the price of Gold. Its sustainable and all but nobody plants them anymore. The fuselage need to be taller. The elevator needs to become a stabilator. The vert needs to become an all moving rudder, Like the Vee pee. The front fuse need to be shorter and straighter, 41 inches wide and parallel to the firewall. And the landing gear leg needs to be cf and really light and out of the prop wash. The game changer for me in terms of carbon fiber is the flat tow fabrics and reduced cost of triax. Its way better than the earlier fabrics.
