Simplest welded steel fuselage?

[cluttonfred]

My experience is mostly building wooden boats, so welded tube would be new territory. The idea was to identify which would be the easiest for a first-timer, not because any one step would be insurmountable.

Please define 'Simple' as opposed to 'Complex'???

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

[hogheadv2]

Triangles go together just one way, and they create outstanding rigidity. As someone with welding and fab experience That Headwind looks like a TIME saver. ** I emailed Don Stewart and plan to look over his little darlings in a couple weeks. I live just a few hours away. His 265 [not selling plans] is also on my really want to look over list. Read the website, 400 hours build for the prototype! Not 2400 hours.

[Jim Hardin]

My experience is mostly building wooden boats, so welded tube would be new territory. The idea was to identify which would be the easiest for a first-timer, not because any one step would be insurmountable.

Thanks ~ very reasonable explanation!

An alternative would be someone near you willing to help. You cut and jig the assemblies and then you should be able to locate someone near you (like me) that just gets up each day HOPING I can find some excuse to light my torch or strike an arc


(I modified a Sheppard's Hook for a 2^ndbird feeder yesterday and looking into some aluminum fab today)

If someone asked me to weld something, I couldn't get there fast enough!

[hogheadv2]

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:

Attachment 2834

Anyone contemplating building an airplane should be able to build that "jig".

I spent over 4 hours basking in the knowledge of Don Stewart today (and sunshine) I bought a set of "Headwind" plans just to have, so many of the details could transfer to a design of my own. Don has a great history of flying and design. He showed me ---- a couple hours worth of cad drawings, Simple, strong, low cost and time seem like why he spend endless hours on the drawings. [Just got home, was over a 600 mile day, will unroll the stack to study this weekend] I crawled in and around his Perfect Plane,,,, The "265" no he will not sell plans for that. {The first thing someone said was he wanted to put a big engine in it}

[eiclan]

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 !

I am interested in the" build the sides first" opinion,I have set of Hatz plans and intend to build top then bottom.Without sidetracking this thread to much some input would be good as a person who is about to start as well as Cluttonfred would benefit from all opinions. Cheers Ross

[Mike Switzer]

I am interested in the" build the sides first" opinion,I have set of Hatz plans and intend to build top then bottom.

If the top & bottom are flat I see no reason why you couldn't build them first, in fact on a lot of designs either the top or bottom is totally flat & the sides may bend in - building the flat sections first would be easier.