Brad W
Pattern Altitude
what do you think of this design, where the wing's leading edge IS the main wing spar? (it's an extruded aluminum D-shaped beam)
I keep thinking about the structure being compromised after it takes a hit. No doubt it's strong, and it would prob take quite a bird to dent it...but once it's dented, seems like that wing is done....not likely repairable.
I'm thinking about hangar rash, hitting a sign post, big bird strike....or even lightning.
(the lightning thing...many years ago I attended a lecture by Bruce Fisher. He was involved in a NASA lightning strike study back in the 1980's. One of the photos he showed was the leading edge of a GA plane...cessna I think it was. Lightning had hit a wingtip, and traveled down the wing, departing the other wingtip...if I remember correctly, it was in the nav light wiring that was just inside the leading edge...anyway, the entire leading edge was imploded...invertered. What was a D shaped outie was now a D shaped innie. A result of the magnetic field produced by the high current he said.)
I keep thinking about the structure being compromised after it takes a hit. No doubt it's strong, and it would prob take quite a bird to dent it...but once it's dented, seems like that wing is done....not likely repairable.
I'm thinking about hangar rash, hitting a sign post, big bird strike....or even lightning.
(the lightning thing...many years ago I attended a lecture by Bruce Fisher. He was involved in a NASA lightning strike study back in the 1980's. One of the photos he showed was the leading edge of a GA plane...cessna I think it was. Lightning had hit a wingtip, and traveled down the wing, departing the other wingtip...if I remember correctly, it was in the nav light wiring that was just inside the leading edge...anyway, the entire leading edge was imploded...invertered. What was a D shaped outie was now a D shaped innie. A result of the magnetic field produced by the high current he said.)