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Thread: Simplest welded steel fuselage?

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    cluttonfred's Avatar
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    Simplest welded steel fuselage?

    Just out of curiosity, if I were to decide to tackle a homebuilt design with a welded 4130 steel tube fuselage, what is the most dead simple one out there? What is the Volksplane of welded designs?
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    The Wag-Aero sport trainer.... basically a J-3 replica

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    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    I'd say Pober Pixie....

    Ron Wanttaja

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    Don Stewart Headwind. Or any other three longeron "razorback" design.

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    Quote Originally Posted by martymayes View Post
    Don Stewart Headwind. Or any other three longeron "razorback" design.
    That's what I was thinking. Clearly a brilliant post by Marty. ;-)

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    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by martymayes View Post
    Don Stewart Headwind. Or any other three longeron "razorback" design.
    Ahhh, good point. How about the Team Airbike?

    Ron Wanttaja

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    Sam Buchanan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew Long View Post
    Just out of curiosity, if I were to decide to tackle a homebuilt design with a welded 4130 steel tube fuselage, what is the most dead simple one out there? What is the Volksplane of welded designs?
    Take a look at the Legal Eagle family of designs. Everything not essential to flight has been engineered out of the plane.

    http://eaglexl-58.com
    http://www.betterhalfvw.com

    My Legal Eagle XL was featured in the January 2013 issue of KitPlanes magazine if you have a copy handy.
    Sam Buchanan
    The RV Journal RV-6 build log
    Fokker D.VII semi-replica build log

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    Quote Originally Posted by martymayes View Post
    Don Stewart Headwind. Or any other three longeron "razorback" design.

    There may be less tubing in a three longeron design, but I don't believe it is easier to build. With a traditional four longeron "box", you can build both sides flat on a table or floor, and join them with equal length top/bottom cross members at each station using a simple carpenter's square to keep the sides vertical. With three longerons, you are going to be designing and building a welding jig to keep the upper longeron in the right position. This is a lesson a whole lot of old rubber powered free flight model builders like myself have learned the hard way !
    Last edited by Victor Bravo; 03-12-2013 at 04:45 PM.

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    Sam Buchanan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Victor Bravo View Post
    There may be less tubing in a three longeron design, but I don't believe it is easier to build. With a traditional four longeron "box", you can build both sides flat on a table or floor, and join them with equal length top/bottom cross members at each station using a simple carpenter's square to keep the sides vertical. With three longerons, you are going to be designing and building a welding jig to keep the upper longeron in the right position. This is a lesson a whole lot of old rubber powered free flight model builders like myself have learned the hard way !
    Too much thinking going on.

    A three longeron fuse is very simple to build. As far as welding jigs go, all you need are a couple of pieces of plywood:

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    Anyone contemplating building an airplane should be able to build that "jig".
    Last edited by Sam Buchanan; 03-12-2013 at 08:05 PM.
    Sam Buchanan
    The RV Journal RV-6 build log
    Fokker D.VII semi-replica build log

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew Long View Post
    Just out of curiosity, if I were to decide to tackle a homebuilt design with a welded 4130 steel tube fuselage, what is the most dead simple one out there? What is the Volksplane of welded designs?
    Please define 'Simple' as opposed to 'Complex'???

    What is it that you are not comfortable with in welded tube building?

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