Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeesik
When i worked at the airport.. I saw many different crafts.
I , myself who know's not much was feeling great next to some aircraft and then...I was really
dissapointed in what I learnt. Mustangs post war had canvas tailings-
AT6 TEXANS-or Canadian HARVARDS =same thing.
I DID NOT KNOW THIS before my work tenure.
When I did come to realize it was the truth, I almost felt betrayed in some weird way.
canvas and wire still existed -wow!
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Nothing wrong with fabric covering.... It is light and strong. My current long term project is a modern aerobatic aircraft (DR107 "One Design") rated to +/- 10 g's and it has fabric covered lower fuselage and tail feathers. The only downside is that paint eventually cracks and if one wants to keep the aircraft looking show quality it wil likely need to be recovered some day.
Pitts biplanes all have fabric covered fuselages/wings/tail feathers. Staudacher and current Panzl aerobatic aircraft that are competitive in the world aerobatic championships have fabric covered tail feathers and lower fuselages.
I personally trust 4130 steel structures covered with fabric much more than composite structures long term.