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Titanium skins

BenderAviation

I'm New Here
Messing around with ideas of saving some weight and thought of replacing some skins with titanium. Has anyone on here done that? A quick search didn't reveal any results.
 
Titanium is heavier than aluminum. You won't save weight by replacing aluminum skins with titanium skins. You will however be able to keep your skin on should you exceed Mach 2.4
 
In my opinion, it's best used as an overlay under the belly as the outer face with a sandwich of Fiberfrax. Grade 2 works nicely for that and I enjoyed working with it there.

But as a skin? Uh uh. No way - as Steve said, the weight will go up and there will be little other benefit, except that it will not melt at supersonic speeds.

Dave
 
There's also galvanic corrosion to consider. I'm no metallurgist but a quick web search yields this, which says in part
Study of the Galvanic Series suggests that steel and aluminum are reasonably compatible; but, if titanium and aluminum contact, the aluminum, as the anode, will corrode.​
 
For years Beechcraft used magnesium for control surfaces, which I assume was for weight reduction, but the corrosion issues were a real problem. When these skins needed replacement, most people replaced them with aluminum. There are plenty of ways to build a light RV without reinventing the wheel.
 
If it’s weight savings you want, have some one fabricate a set of titanium gear legs for you. Your wallet will get significantly lighter too.
 
If it’s weight savings you want, have some one fabricate a set of titanium gear legs for you. Your wallet will get significantly lighter too.

And you'll likely have even worse shimmy issues because of the reduced stiffness of titanium compared to steel.

Dave
 
Weight Savings

Vans has already done a good job at making his airplanes light. The early RV-6 with a 160 hp and wood prop was a formidable machine and had a lot of performance. That's why he spanked all of the competition when it came out.

Here are some weight savings for the RV-6
1. Lightweight Tail wheels-saves about 1.5lbs
2. Use RV-7 elevators- the counter balance weights are on the ends compared to the -6 using two weight bolted to the inside and closer to the rotational axis.
3. Lighter interior materials-cloth versus leather and don't put carpet everywhere. More noise but with cancelling headsets who cares.
4. Lighter instruments. Most of your digital instruments are less bulky.
5. No vacuum system.
6. Be very anal about hardware bolt lengths and washers. Vans plans never seems to have to correct bolt lengths in there. I got about every bolt imaginable and used thinner washer and correct screws in all the applications. Over the entire airplane, you can save a lot of pounds. It adds up.
7. Don't primer ALCAD parts. If weight is the enemy, why are we painting parts that are already corrosion proof. Look at all the planes that don't have primer and are still flying around....?
8. Be very anal about your engine install and accessories like brake lines. I used all AN3 parts. No AN4 fittings or hoses. You don't need it. They are harder to find and sometimes more expensive but if weight reduction is the mission, then you need to use that.
9. Wood prop or MT/Composite Prop. No metal props
10 Lightweight accessories like Sky-Tec starter, B&C small Alt...ect.
11. Carb versus FI. More parts means more weight.
12. Lightweight flywheel. They make them. They are not cheap.
13. Be very careful on MIL stack up of your paint. Paint can get very heavy if you blast a bunch on there.
14. Use Light weight fillers or bondo. It adds up if you use the heavy stuff.
15. Lightening hole everything allow on the build. All spars that Van approved to lighten, cut the holes in them. It adds up.

Everything I just listed will probably in total cut over 100lbs off your bird. You should be able to get a 180hp RV-6 in the air under 1000lbs. It has been done before.
 
For years Beechcraft used magnesium for control surfaces, which I assume was for weight reduction, but the corrosion issues were a real problem. When these skins needed replacement, most people replaced them with aluminum. There are plenty of ways to build a light RV without reinventing the wheel.

Magnesium also has a relatively low burning point. I have a magnesium strip in my ditch bag and on my survival knife. You can light it with a spark.

Personally, I decided to replace the aluminum not with titanium or magnesium, but with Unobtainium.
 
This sounds a lot like the conversations I hear around the coffee shop when all the cyclists get together and compare which components they've just swapped out to save 100g on their bikes... As they sit there with their danish and mocha-latte.

The first way to lower weight while flying, is to lose the excess baggage from the pilot.
 
This sounds a lot like the conversations I hear around the coffee shop when all the cyclists get together and compare which components they've just swapped out to save 100g on their bikes... As they sit there with their danish and mocha-latte.

The first way to lower weight while flying, is to lose the excess baggage from the pilot.

Come on! Don't state the obvious!!!!
 
Best performance enhancement item ever to be installed in any single engine aircraft.............. "Install less pilot ":eek:
 
Helium

How bout helium in a bladder of Mylar in the back half of the plane.. or maybe for you moose and squirrel fans.. upsadasium,
 
I was dreaming of an EarthX battery last year and the same exact thought occurred to me. So I cut 43 lb of pilot weight over a few months and will install an Odyssey when the Concorde is shot.

The first way to lower weight while flying, is to lose the excess baggage from the pilot.[/QUOTE]
 
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