Longeron dimensions

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Varmint
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2020 2:13 am

Longeron dimensions

Post by Varmint »

It is quite common in early wood designs for the longerons and other fuselage diagonals member so be 3/4" x 3/4" and some are also 1" x 1", like the Piet.

I have seen considerable discussion in regard to using 3/4" spars instead of the routed 1" spars but have not seen similar discussion on 3/4" fuselage components instead of 1". Has there been consideration, discussion and/or analysis of this?

Of course changing the spars from 1" to 3/4" leaves 75% of the material remaining. Changing the longerons from 1x1 to .75 x .75 leaves only 56% of the material remaining so it seems pretty "dramatic". However the common use of 3/4 x 3/4 material in this application leaves me wondering if the (much) more robust material was in response to the absence of airports in 1929 and the intentions of landing on largely unimproved surfaces demanding a very robust "chassis" for ground operations much more than the need for an "airframe" of that durability.

Has this ship sailed? If so, what were the relevant considerations and conclusions?

Thanks
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