ELITE WING SPAR (Applies to Rebel Also)
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:37 pm
Hi CJ
Wow, #584, we have 583 so I expect we have run into all the same quirks of the
early Elite kits. We too are building our first plane so I don't think your
lack of experience makes you much different from the rest of us! By the way,
where are you located?
OK, the spars. We have one wing teetering on the brink of the tank sealing
process and the other untouched so looking at the parts we have made the root
end the end that has the first set of rib holes punched closer to the end of the
spar. I believe this is to give you something to attach the overlap of the
fiberglass tips to when they are installed without interfering with the
outermost rib. Both spars are identical and they become right & left when you
add the strut fitting mounts, you just want to lay them out so right is the
mirror image of the left with the "short" end inboard before you start adding
the fittings.
Further indications of this include Figure 8.20.1 on page 44 of the 29 June '98
edition of the manual which shows an isometric view of the wing root and would
indicate the spar does not overhang the root ribs. I am presuming this section
of the manual is correct and up to date as I have not seen a newer version
posted in the support section of the MAM web site.
By the way, this wing structure is essentially the same if not identical to a
high gross Rebel wing so all you Rebel builders out there can follow the same
information. One last thought, it would be helpful if MAM would put a few words
in the manuals about critical items like this so builders, particularly those
who do not have access to this forum, don't get led down the wrong path by the
close similarity of the two ends of the spar. Perhaps omitting the outboard set
of (unused) rib holes would also make it less ambiguous (and save production
cost!).
CJ, I don't know if you have seen our project page (www.elite583.cjb.net) but I
am trying to document our project and in particular highlight some of the
subtitles in this project for those who follow. One of those is placement of
the wing ribs relative to the spar, after trying the method MAM describes in
their manual I set the spar up so the front face was facing up and aligned the
ribs between thick pieces of metal clamped to the flanges of the spar, this gave
us better alignment of the ribs because they were located on the top and bottom
relative to the spar. The photo on the web site probably explains it better. I
can go into more detail if you would like later.
Don't be shy about jumping in here, we don't have a lot of Elite discussion here
(yet) but I am sure there are others lurking who are interested. I for one am
interested to hear how the flaps & ailerons went together, those are up next for
us after the wings. Any surprises or things to watch for? Let us know.
Cheers,
Dave
David A. Ricker
Fall River, Nova Scotia
Canada
Elite 583.cjb.net
Jeffrey Steenson wrote:
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Wow, #584, we have 583 so I expect we have run into all the same quirks of the
early Elite kits. We too are building our first plane so I don't think your
lack of experience makes you much different from the rest of us! By the way,
where are you located?
OK, the spars. We have one wing teetering on the brink of the tank sealing
process and the other untouched so looking at the parts we have made the root
end the end that has the first set of rib holes punched closer to the end of the
spar. I believe this is to give you something to attach the overlap of the
fiberglass tips to when they are installed without interfering with the
outermost rib. Both spars are identical and they become right & left when you
add the strut fitting mounts, you just want to lay them out so right is the
mirror image of the left with the "short" end inboard before you start adding
the fittings.
Further indications of this include Figure 8.20.1 on page 44 of the 29 June '98
edition of the manual which shows an isometric view of the wing root and would
indicate the spar does not overhang the root ribs. I am presuming this section
of the manual is correct and up to date as I have not seen a newer version
posted in the support section of the MAM web site.
By the way, this wing structure is essentially the same if not identical to a
high gross Rebel wing so all you Rebel builders out there can follow the same
information. One last thought, it would be helpful if MAM would put a few words
in the manuals about critical items like this so builders, particularly those
who do not have access to this forum, don't get led down the wrong path by the
close similarity of the two ends of the spar. Perhaps omitting the outboard set
of (unused) rib holes would also make it less ambiguous (and save production
cost!).
CJ, I don't know if you have seen our project page (www.elite583.cjb.net) but I
am trying to document our project and in particular highlight some of the
subtitles in this project for those who follow. One of those is placement of
the wing ribs relative to the spar, after trying the method MAM describes in
their manual I set the spar up so the front face was facing up and aligned the
ribs between thick pieces of metal clamped to the flanges of the spar, this gave
us better alignment of the ribs because they were located on the top and bottom
relative to the spar. The photo on the web site probably explains it better. I
can go into more detail if you would like later.
Don't be shy about jumping in here, we don't have a lot of Elite discussion here
(yet) but I am sure there are others lurking who are interested. I for one am
interested to hear how the flaps & ailerons went together, those are up next for
us after the wings. Any surprises or things to watch for? Let us know.
Cheers,
Dave
David A. Ricker
Fall River, Nova Scotia
Canada
Elite 583.cjb.net
Jeffrey Steenson wrote:
Dear C.J.,
Dave Ricker probably has the freshest perspective on wing building right
now, but it doesn't sound right. My wings are out at the hanger, so I can't
check, but my recollection is that the spars were identical. The rib
flanges point the same way, so the left wing root is not flush. But I think
the pilot holes were the same. I think this may warrant a phone call to
Tech Support.
I'm a first-time builder too, and I actually found the wings quite enjoyable
to build. The manual shines at this part of the project!
Best wishes,
Jeffrey Steenson in ABQ, NM
Elite #714
----- Original Message -----
From: <Wodzk@aol.com>
To: <murphy-rebel@dcsol.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2003 8:43 AM
Subject: ELITE WING SPAR
experienceI have been reading all of the good information on this network for a long
time but I have not been active in any of the dialog because I haven't had
anything to contribute. I am a first time builder with no priorIso I have been trying to absorb all of the information coming my way.
I have completed my stabilizers, rudder, elevator, flaps, and ailerons sothehave been at for quite a while. I have a problem now that I can't figure
out. I am starting on my wings but I haven't made much progress because I
cannot determine which end of my main spars is the root end.
Both ends of my spars are drilled for the extra nose rib between the first
two main ribs and each end of the spars has a pilot hole for mounting the
main spar doubler (W603) for the lift strut. The only difference is thatisfirst set of pilot holes for mounting a rib is spaced approx 1/2" farther
from the end of the spar than the first set of holes are spaced from the
opposite end. The pilot hole for the strut attach spar doubler is also
approx 1/2" farther from one end of the spar than its corresponding holethefrom the opposite end.
It appears to me that this is a critical question. Selecting one end ofgreatlyspar for the root end will space the wing skin and the strut attach 1/2"
farther from the fuselage than if I would use the opposite end. Which is
correct?
Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions? Any help will beappreciated.
CJ Larsen
#584E
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