Wooden Structures

Hard & Soft wood

Wood is classified as either hard wood or soft wood. This does not necessarily mean that one is harder than another but is based on the cell structure of the wood.

Hard & Soft wood

Hard woods have visible pores and come from trees that shed their leaves every year. Soft woods have fibre like cells and come from trees that are evergreen and have needles and cones. The wood used for construction of load bearing components of an aircraft is soft wood because the cell structure leads to better uniformity.

Types Of Wood

Sitka Spruce is the preferred wood for aircraft construction Douglas Fir difficult to work with Noble Fir can replace Spruce Western Hemlock Less uniform than Spruce Northern White Pine Only 85% strength of Spruce White Cedar May be used to replace Spruce Yellow Poplar Less strong than Spruce

Hard & Soft wood

Wood can be used in solid form or laminated. The solid form for large components that meets the requirements for aircraft is difficult to find and so we often use laminated wood or plywood for structures such as wing spars.

Plywood

Grain Structure

Local Strengthening

Some areas require extra strength at the joint these areas are fitted with a gusset plate.

NAILS APPLYING PRESSURE

PLYWOOD GUSSET

Repairing a Spar section

Remove the damaged area by cutting at a 12:1 angle.

SCARF JOINT 12 TO 1 SLOPE

Repairing a rib section

Typical repair to a rib.

Fabric Covering

The recovering of an aircraft fabric skin is classed as a major repair.

FABRIC ROLL

SELVAGE EDGE

BIAS

WARP FILL

Testing Fabric
The Maule tester is spring loaded with a blunt point this is pushed down on the fabric until the laid down breaking point is registered if the fabric has been punctured then the fabric has failed the test.

Testing Fabric
Seyboth tester is pressed down until it penetrates the fabric and a coloured indicator shows whether it has failed the test on completion of the test a small patch is doped over the hole.

A sewn repair can be made in fabrics if the airspeed does not exceed 150 Knots the area is sewn using a baseball stitch and a patch is doped over the repair that extends one and a half inches beyond the damage.

Sewn Repair

Points to note
Soft wood is generally used for load bearing components. Laminated woods have their grains at 45 90 degrees to each other. Nails provide no structural strength. A gusset is used to strengthen a joint. Repairs should be cut to a 12:1 taper.

Points to note
Decay first shows up as discoloration. Cotton or linen is used for covering aircraft. UV light damages fabric covered aircraft.