I have not made much progress since the last post because of work getting in the way.. However, I have decided that I will be using 3, 4, 5 and 6 mm Stainless Steel tubes. So I have grouped the different sizes found on Schleicher's plans (ranging from 12 to 30mm) and replaced by the corresponding size. This is very approximative, however I have received advice, and read on forums, and it seems like it will be strong enough.
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| Rendering of the tubes in the current assembly |
After adding all the tubes (custom frame objects in Inventor), the image above shows you the result! It's about 1.84m in length and it weighs around 555g as is. Expect a little more when adding the reinforcements for the landing gear, the wooden top, as well as the supporting structure for the wings. I am unsure how much soldering silver I will need, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were near 100g. And of course a lot more weight will come from wooden sections, covering, and electronics... By the way, this fuselage will require at least 22 meters of tubing!
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| Side view of the fuselage |
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| Top view of the fuselage |
Inventor indicates that the center of gravity stands 126mm from the cockpit's aft end tube. I am curious to know how this will change as we go! This will deeply affect the amount of lead in the nose, and the overall mass.
I was tempted to modify the geometry slightly in order to optimize Schleicher's design for a smaller scale, but the more I look at it, the less I feel I need to. Two sections I do not expect to reproduce are the landing gear, and the wing's attachment.
Next up: Making a wing/fuselage junction, refining the landing gear, and ordering the material!
