New wings for the G-1 Mk.2
- Andrea Gatti
- 18 gen 2019
- Tempo di lettura: 2 min
Aggiornamento: 29 gen 2019
A new set of wings is undergoing the construction phase.
The entirely new design features 4° dihedral for better stability and control, a 3° twist of the airfoil sections from root to tip to improve the low-speed handling and an optimized wooden structure to reduce the empty weight at minimum.
This new design, added to some other minor improvements, is responsible for an empty weight reduction of the entire airframe of about 35%.
This astonishing result was however expected because the Mk.1 wings were made out of a polystyrene core that had not any form of weight-reduction provisions.
In this set of wing, the entire volume of polystyrene is replaced, let's say, by air, concentrating the structures only where needed and in a place where they can have a more efficient "role" in carrying the loads.
Unfortunately the idea of a fiberglass lay-up of a new polystyrene core went wrong. In fact, the resin almost melted the polystyrene leaving to me only a poorly-catalyzed fiberglass shell. That wing section, together with the left-hand outer wing section (its sister...), went in the garbage together with the idea of molding fiberglass another time without the correct set-up.
The little brackets supporting the ribs were very helpful while closing the wingbox to get the correct twist. By holding the ribs in place with some very good books like "Applied aeroelasticity", or "Introduction to flight" written by Anderson, the wing section had no chance to move while the glue was sticking. Once the two wood panels were glued with the stringers and the ribs, the section showed good torsional rigidity but it's going to be further improved once the webb will be installed behind the two stringers.
The next step will be the realization of a set of ailerons, one per each semi-wing.
The entire wing will be covered with very light plastic (Oracover) to keep the empty weight at minimum.
