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Part I: Advantages of Building Lightly

There are many reasons to want to build a light, strong structure. They can be summarized in a single sentence: lighter planes fly better! Here's why:

One more comment on lower aircraft weight. If you can save weight somewhere, you may be able to save even more somewhere else! The lighter your plane, the less structural "beef" is required. An obvious example would be landing gear - a lighter plane can use lighter landing gear. This principle applies to the entire plane structure.

Another point of contention here could be crash survivability. The critical point is that lighter structures can be just as strong - good results depend on excellent structure design! It's easy to make a heavy, stout plane - a lightweight strong plane is harder to come by. The fact is, crash damage is a result of how well or how badly a plane can absorb the energy that must be dissipated in a sudden stop. That energy is, again, related to the plane's weight - less weight, less energy to absorb in the crash! If you also consider that the lighter plane has a good chance of crashing at a lower airspeed, then the light plane actually may suffer LESS damage in the same circumstances! The trick is to ``build strong where needed'' and build lightly everywhere (else).

Next month we'll dissect a few popular kits to illuminate exactly how you can safely lighten the structure while maximizing strength. Use these tips for building that new plane (or converting your favorite glow kit to electric power...grin). I close Part I with a couple tips from Clay's article on structure lightening.

figure93


next up previous
Next: Until Next Month... Up: Building Light for Better Previous: Building Light for Better

Craig Kulesa
Fri Dec 4 18:49:42 MST 1998