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-   -   Carbon Fiber Rudder (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=169720)

ATango 03-17-2019 02:45 PM

Carbon Fiber Rudder
 
I've been working on making a carbon fiber rudder (RV-8 drop-in replacement) for a little while now and finally have a little bit of progress to share. I just fabricated the skins this past week while I was home from school for spring break. This project is primarily for my own education with designing/fabricating composite parts, and I'm quite happy with how the skins came out. The look is a bit different than the stock RV-8 rudder, with some influences from the GB1 Gamebird.

I'll try to include some pictures on here, but I have a lot more pictures and a fairly detailed write up on my website: https://sites.google.com/view/adamav...der?authuser=0

Let me know what you think!





Dustyone 03-17-2019 03:40 PM

Awesome project
 
Hi Adam,

What a great project to learn about design and manufacturing .

Liked the new shape of the trailing edge.

Great write up on your website.

Cheers,

Mark33 03-17-2019 04:40 PM

Wow...that looks really nice!! I?m sure you could sell a lot of those if you ever decided to produce them.

David Paule 03-17-2019 05:27 PM

Don't forget to flutter-qualify it!

And since the area looks reduced, be sure to run it through the full set of lateral-directional stability and control tests.

Dave

ATango 03-17-2019 05:57 PM

Ashley and Mark: Glad you guys like it. The mold is still in great condition due to many hours or prep time.. additional rudders may be something I would consider a bit in the future, but this one is for education and validation.

Dave: The area of the rudder is nearly identical to the stock RV-8 rudder. The rudder will be counter-balanced as well. When it comes time, flight test will be taken seriously. Thanks for your concern!

BillL 03-17-2019 06:29 PM

Nice!! Are you going to bond real ribs in there for stiffness? Any projection on a weight comparison with the stock 8 rudder?

ATango 03-17-2019 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillL (Post 1332257)
Nice!! Are you going to bond real ribs in there for stiffness? Any projection on a weight comparison with the stock 8 rudder?

Bill, a spar and ribs (all carbon fiber) will be bonded into the structure. I do not have a precise weight estimate yet, but it will not be any heavier than the stock rudder. I am using fairly high factors of safety and over-engineering it a bit, so it will not be quite as light as it could be.

N941WR 03-17-2019 06:53 PM

That looks cool!

My only comment is that there isn't a fitting for the rear light.

Can you make the entire trailing edge a combination position and strobe light with LED's?

David Paule 03-17-2019 06:56 PM

How does the torsional stiffness compare to the stock one?

Dave

dmattmul 03-17-2019 08:29 PM

Boiler Up !!
 
Knew he must be a Purdue student !!!!


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