Builders! A little help please

[beverlyt]

We've been working on our Shasta and Andrew helped me out ENORMOUSLY with a pattern plan for cutting out the profile of the wing. (These trailers came with these wild looking wings on the top back of them)
http://www.freewebs.com/4media/

Anyway, we are making ours from 1/8" plywood.

I often get an email or two (sadly, mostly by women...with the building skills of a squirrel..much like me) for an easy way to build these from aluminum. Now I KNOW even I could cut aluminum with some sharp metal cutters, but how to adhere the angle... I had thought of cutting out the aluminum, along with a 1" thick piece of styrofoam insulation for a core...but you can't put a nail into styrofoam to hold the angle in place.

Think someone who doesn't have the equipment/skills to cut the pattern out of wood.

Anyway, I'm looking for ideas on where to find some sort of "textured" aluminum and also an easy way that ANYONE could make these from aluminum and have them look good.

Or... even a different material that would work to build some that would still look pretty good and be light. Perhaps something that one could paint silver to look like aluminum.
Any ideas are appreciated,
Bev

[asianflava]

One way you could do it is to make the pattern out of hardwood and use it as a "pattern buck". Basically, you pound the aluminum around it so that it takes the shape of the pattern. Do this for the channel along the perimeter then fill the flat parts with the textured aluminum.

I don't know how do-able this but it's worth a shot.

[dmb90260]

Sorry, I have zero aluminum or wood working skills or information but I think the wings would look even better if they were made of lucite or something similar and lit up as running lights at night. (got no lucite skills either, I deal in ideas not practicality.)

[beverlyt]

Anyway, we are making ours from 1/8" plywood.

Uh... there I go saying "we" again. I should have said "Bob" is making wings.

[beverlyt]

Well, it appears that aluminum is probably a medium that could be used, but probably a more difficult task.

Probably wood painted to appear as much as possible as aluminum would be best.

I think the next time someone asks, if they aren't able to do the wood work themselves... to find someone locally that can.

Good enough!
Bev

[emiller]

Bev I think one of the sisters on the fly sells repo ones, you might want to post something there on there msg board. Here is there link http://www.sistersonthefly.com/

[angib]

My logic for making replica wings is that the aluminum channel trim around the edge is the critical part, that will be hardest to source, and everything else should be made to fit that. The ideal channel (to match the original) would be about 1" wide by 1/4" deep.

Building the wings as light as it appears Shasta did would make them difficult to build, so I suggest making them solid. The core should be made from two or more layers of ply stuck together, so that its thickness can be adjusted to make the core and the two aluminum skins a tight fit inside the channel.

When the core and skins have been stuck together, the channel trim will be wrapped around them. I wouldn't bet on getting this right the first time and I reckon it might take three or four lengths of trim to get the technique sussed (er, sorry, that means 'worked out').

The channel needs to have both sides notched in two places, so that it will bend around the sharp back corners. The channel needs to be as shallow as possible (the 1/4" dimension above) so that it can be bent around the front of the wing without distorting. Sounds like annealing techniques discussed in a previous thread will be needed too, to get the trim to bend smoothly. There is a joint in the channel in the middle of the bottom.

The theoretical position and shape of the notches is shown in this diagram (good pdf copy being emailed to you, Bev) but they might need to be adjusted after the prototype has been made.



Andrew

[beverlyt]

Yes, I am aware of at least one person that makes reproduction wings...and they charge around $160.00 or more.
I paid $200.00 for the entire trailer... I like wings but not that much! They are very nice though.

And Andrew... come to think of it, I believe even the person that makes the reproduction wings uses a wood core... so what you've come up with is a very good idea.

Where you come up with all these ideas...you are just a deep vast well of information. (and you're fun too..how'd that happen!)

Thanks!
Bev

[randy chesnutt]

here a ideal, get you a peace of good styrofoam shape it to match the shape you want. once you get it then get some fiberglass cloth and resin and glass in the wing. we built a airplane that way called E-Z. It,s not hard to do,just your time and matrail.