It is not so much the strength of the WAF's that concerns me, it is drilling all those holes in the spar (cap). Even the landing gear mounts require holes drilled in the upper and lower spar cap .......
my intention is to add a wider pillar between the caps where the undercarriage mounts, add a 2mm 4130 "back-plate" behind the spar - then drill the mounting holes through the pillar - not the spar caps. This way the legs are sort of clamped to the spar without any holes in the load bearing caps - maybe even one size up on the ply web between the legs (and the necessary precautions against stress risers). =========== Without any other deviation from the plans - this makes sense to me. One of the builders suggested that changes to spar were silly or even dangereous, I wonder if this change would be viewed in that way. Staples: I note that all builders remove the staples after the adhesive has cured, so they are really just there for a snug fit while the adhesive sets. If a satisfactory alternate method of clamping the parts together is avaiable, can I assume that the staples are not essential? Reason for asking - I plan to pre-bent the boat side-frame when the ply is bonded to the ladder so that there is less stress when the sides are assembled. This means clamping everything during the cure, so I will not have access to the ourside if I want to see glue join (on the inside) to make sure the clamping pressure is right all over. Thanks G --------------------------------- ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun!
