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This is another kind of Wings built by Dave Ganzer in 9 months including redrafting the chassis to fit 6'4" people and building 2 engines to meet the needs of California Smog certification and licensing... The original design is the ageless Lotus 7...
If you have interest in pursuing a project like this, please send a message to Dave Ganzer via the information request below...
Wings
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May 25, 2002 - We did the first flight without a sealing cover over the gap between the two wings... A video tape of the first flight has been reviewed and there is a consensus that the landing glide was very negatively effected by the open gap between the wings... We strongly advocate flying with the wing gap sealed...
August 9, 2002 - Leonard is advising new builders to fabricate front and back wing spars with web lightening holes in the last two out-board wing bays ONLY... Wing spar web lightening holes may be omitted entirely for construction simplicity...
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This photo shows the placement of compression ribs and diagonal braces - please note that we doubled the upper compression rib between the lift strut fittings...
BE SURE to keep the .8 mm plywood in a roll as shown for several months before application to the leading edge!... We didn't and dimples in the wing airfoil curves developed a month after the plywood had been smoothly put in place!
We brushed one coat of Stits Epoxy Varnish on the inside of the D sections...
Details of jigging the leading edge rib structure...
The longeron was installed after the ribs were dry and the alignment had been carefully inspected! YES - that 3/4 x 3/4 block is jigging and falls away when the clamps are removed... You need 40 clamps to do this step in one session...
This is the plywood clamping process - requires 2 people - no staples used...
It is July 25, 2001, we are painting the left and final wing half... Our wing building advise is:
1) Try to build both wings at the same time - it's easy to lose momentum when you have done one wing and know there is another ahead - it is easy to either over or under estimate the work involved...
2) Be sure to keep the .8 mm plywood (leading edge skins) in rolls, as shown above, for several months in a warm dry place before you install it...
3) Drop the diagonal brace in the gas tank bay down on the face of the spar caps reinforced with 1/8" plywood gussets...
4) Fit the remaining diagonal braces and leave in place unglued until the wing has been squared up again and the compression braces are glued...
5) Sand all surfaces with a wet/dry #220 grit foam backed sanding block...
6) Put the coat of varnish on (be sure it is compatible with your covering system) with a brush... It won't take that long (8 hours) and you'll save pounds of needless weight... Make sure your varnish is thinned to the max throughout the application session...
Varnishing With the Pump
By Christopher McGuire
Whether rebuilding an antique airplane or building one from scratch, anything we can do to maximize our efforts will make the process go more quickly and be more pleasurable. Varnishing the myriad pieces on wood structured aircraft can be a laborious task. The many gussets, braces, ribs, spars, stringers, etc., consume a lot of time. Much of the time is wasted going to and from the can.
On one of my projects, I decided there must be a better way and thought of this idea. It is a great labor saver and only takes a few minutes to make. First, I drilled a hole in a small brush. The hole is angled to the root of the bristles and sized so that a 1/8” I.D. x 3/16” O.D. x 1/32” wall clear vinyl tube can be epoxied into the brush. Next, I cleaned my pump oil can and attached the other end of the tubing to its spout.
To use, simply fill the can with varnish, pump with one hand and brush with the other. The technique is to pump just enough to keep the brush at the optimal level of saturation for even distribution. Of course, this device could be used to apply many other coatings as well,
Some advantages are:
2-3 times faster than conventional methods.
No overspray as in spraying application.
No dripping while transferring brush to and from can.
No lost time dipping brush.
Never lose eye contact with work, therefore, less chance to miss a spot.
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August 2004
7) Some builders are putting 2 Owens/Corning "Foamular" pink foam 1" thick ribs spaced between
the plywood leading edges ribs in the main spar box... Leonard is showing a 1/2 (upper surface) plywood leading edge rib in his rib making display... Additional ribs will minimize the dimples caused by humidity changes in the leading edge plywood...
See sidebar on WingsHow2?'s page for complete assembly sequence...