hangar with a hanger inside it.Originally Posted by RV8505
hangar with a hanger inside it.
*wipes coffee off screen*hangar with a hanger inside it.
Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.
"I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.
At least they're not showing pictures of hanger queens... :-)
Ron Wanttaja
Fly Baby's is pretty thorough. Four 1/2" pins are inserted at the spar carrythroughs, and all four pins are visible from outside the cockpit. A couple clevis pins are then inserted for the wing bracing, that's it. It's all out in the open, easy to inspect. In 50 years, there's been only one accident related to improperly unfolding the wings (left out the spar pins).
Avids and Kitfoxes have been pretty reliable, too.
Ron Wanttaja
Oops.In 50 years, there's been only one accident related to improperly unfolding the wings (left out the spar pins).
You'll be at Oshkosh right? If you bring your Fly Baby with you, would you mind if I took a look at the folding mechanism? I should also bring along my copy (once I get a new one....my psychotic ex-girlfriend stole it along with a bunch of my other stuff) of Kitplane Construction and have you sign it for me.
Last edited by steveinindy; 01-16-2012 at 10:12 PM.
Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.
"I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.
Actually, probably won't be at Oshkosh. I'll buy ya a beer another time.
For more detail on Fly Baby wing folding, see:
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/FOLDING.HTM
You'll note that, while it has the advantage of being mostly exposed so you can check the wings after unfolding, it's a bit more complex than a lot of folding-wing airplanes. I do like the idea of physically pushing-in pins to secure the wings, vs. some sort of mechanism that's supposed to be doing it for me.
I understand your preference for Navy-quality folding mechanisms, but those fail, too...
Ron Wanttaja
Which is a major reason I don't have much interest in an aircraft with folding wings.I understand your preference for Navy-quality folding mechanisms, but those fail, too...
Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.
"I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.
Ron also didn't mention that the wing folding hinge is not in anyway attached or even associated with the spars. Pete unintentionally demonstrated how this was a good idea with N500F many years ago, it is detailed in one of the articles from late '62 or early '63 after he won the design contest.
Jim
Fly Baby and Hevle Classic plans holder.
EAA 276294 Lifetime
Vintage 722607
1957 Piper PA-22/20 "Super Pacer"
Chapter 32 member www.eaa32.org
www.mykitlog.com/LinerDrivr
Fly Baby/Hevle Classic Tandem
I am not building one. I have built the better part of 2 of their Sonex, however. First one I sold prior to completion. Second one I've been flying for the past 3+ years. Their designs are "robust", to say the least. They do the math, then they test to failure (to confirm the conservatism in their calculations). So I wouldn't doubt what they have there is plenty strong.
If you have doubts, I'm sure within a couple of months, there will be builders' photos of every last part, every stage of assembly. There hasn't been a customer completion yet (that I know of), so give them some time. They only started shipping middle of last year.
Yes, indeed. The "Wing folding mechanism" doesn't associate with any structural elements. You disconnect the spars at the fuselage, and there's a low-tech pivot system to let you slide each wing alongside the fuselage.
That's one advantage of the Fly Baby for those who don't really like folding wings...you can replace those 1/2" spar pins with AN8 bolts and nuts. But if you *ever* need to fold the wings, you can just remove the bolts.
Ron Wanttaja
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