Message #438

Date: Apr 12 2000 09:05:55 EDT
From: DK807@aol.com
Subject: Re: Wings out of Whack

Hey Jeff,
  I'm sure you're going to get some great answers and more help from experts 
out there, but here's my little dumb-a_ _  opinion:  I'd tear it down and 
make it right. 
   I knew nothing about wings until a few years ago when I started helping my 
buddy Jack Thomson up in Indy build Stearman wings.  He explained, and I 
later saw for myself, how the wings are like bridges---with spans and 
trusses.  It's unbelievable how wings get twisted and pulled by the forces of 
flight--Hell, I never really thought about it 'till we got going with the 
whole thing, and then it made perfect sense.  And, just like a bridge,  an 
unequal span width would have areas of torsion or flex that are sort of 
compounded by the rest of the wing.
   Hey man, I'm just an old country boy, and I sure don't have any expertise 
to talk wing design or construction, but if Mr. Bowers said to build it up a 
certain way, I swear I think I'd do it.  And here's another thing, you're not 
the only "dumb as a post" out here.  This stuff happens every day in 
somebody's basement or hangar.  But after cussing for twenty minutes, and 
several six-packs, just think how much better you'll feel with your fanny in 
your Baby on a windy, gusty, bumpy day.
   All the Best Jeff,
Dave Koseruba