Flying and Wood

[DavidCBaker]

As an airplane and helicopter pilot...and a woodworker (I'm better at the former than the latter!)...this circular from the FAA was really fascinating. I don't have an airplane with wood in it, but it's interesting to read techniques for repairing them.https://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/ac_43.13-1b_w-chg1.pdf

 

[Ron B]

That combo works.  There was Howard Hughe's

 

[Ron B]

Sorry-hit the wrong button.  There was Howard Hughes Spruce Goose. Also one of the faster bombers of WWII was wood-the British Mosquito.  In the 1920's if you wanted something to hold its value, you bought a piano.  In the 1930's the piano market dried up.  Like Hummel figurines or Rockwell plates, or beanie babies that market crashed.  The Mosquito was built by laid-off piano builders in closed piano factories.  Airplane factories were bombed, but who bombs a piano factory?  I imagine a lot of German pilots would rather say they were shot down by a Spitfire than a wooden bomber. 

 

[Packard]

I helped a friend rebuild a 1951 MGTD.  A surprising amount of the structure was wood.  I don’t know what the species was; all we had access to was oak.

Morgan also used a good bit of wood as did the short-lived Israeli Marcos GT (Circa 1965).

And apparently there was a significant contribution made by balsa wood in early aircraft.

. https://asmedigitalcollection.asme....-of-Balsa-Wood-in-Aircraft?redirectedFrom=PDF

Although they do not specify the application, end grain balsa with carbon laminated in both sides is/was? Used by NASA.

At the bottom of the page they list their customers. They also list Northrop-Grumman and Bell Helicopters.
https://dragonplate.com/14-balsa-core
https://dragonplate.com/14-balsa-core

 

[Mini Me]

This may interest some, how to make wooden propellers

 

[Euclid]

Although they do not specify the application, end grain balsa with carbon laminated in both sides is/was? Used by NASA.

There is also 'Mallite', which is end-grain balsa between thin aluminium skins - this was most famously used for the monocoque chassis of McLaren's first F1 car in the mid-60s  (designed by Robin Herd, who came from aerospace, have previously worked on the Concorde project).

There have been a number of wooden race cars over time: e.g. the Protos F2 car (moderately successful) and Roger Nathan's sports cars (very successful).
Aero Industry man Frank Costin was involved with both of those - and contributed to the Vanwall, the similarly shaped Lotus 16, and numerous other motorsport projects. And was also brother of Mike Costin - the 'Cos' of Cosworth.