Vitor Costa Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Hello friends Does anyone know which parts of the LA-7 were made of wood? Wings, the entire wing? half?? Fuselage?? Thank you for your help Regards Vitor Costa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jure Miljevic Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Hello, Vitor Wings were made of wood apart from: metal spar, leading edge slats, flaps, main undercarriage, ailerons with fabric covering, trim tabs, various service panels on wings' lower surface and metal strip, covering wing outer surfaces and central wing joint just outside undercarriage. Fuselage behind the cockpit and tail apart from: radio doors, tail undercarriage, metal construction control surfaces with fabric covering, trim tabs and radiator. Check also this web page for cutaway drawings and description. Cheers Jure 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 1 hour ago, Jure Miljevic said: Hello, Vitor Wings were made of wood apart from: metal spar, leading edge slats, flaps, main undercarriage, ailerons with fabric covering, trim tabs, various service panels on wings' lower surface and metal strip, covering wing outer surfaces and central wing joint just outside undercarriage. Fuselage behind the cockpit and tail apart from: radio doors, tail undercarriage, metal construction control surfaces with fabric covering, trim tabs and radiator. Check also this web page for cutaway drawings and description. Cheers Jure Jure, very detailed but you have forgot to add - I supouse that engine was all metal Cheers J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitor Costa Posted September 24, 2017 Author Share Posted September 24, 2017 1 hour ago, Jure Miljevic said: Hello, Vitor Wings were made of wood apart from: metal spar, leading edge slats, flaps, main undercarriage, ailerons with fabric covering, trim tabs, various service panels on wings' lower surface and metal strip, covering wing outer surfaces and central wing joint just outside undercarriage. Fuselage behind the cockpit and tail apart from: radio doors, tail undercarriage, metal construction control surfaces with fabric covering, trim tabs and radiator. Check also this web page for cutaway drawings and description. Cheers Jure Hello Jure Thank you very much! It couldn't be better. Incredible how a machine could be so effective using so much wood. This helped me a lot, thank you once more :-) Cheers Vitor Costa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Quote very detailed but you have forgot to add - I suppose that engine was all metal And the pilots were men of steel! From somewhere (book? internet?) I copied this description of Russian construction materials. Delta Drevesina- - a wood-plastic material used for heavier elements, wing spars and such like. It consisted of carefully selected sections of spruce impregnated with a complex phenol-formaldehyde resin and cured under pressure in a kiln.Shpon-- a skinning material of such strength that the resulting structures were usually of monocoque design. Shpon was made by laying cross-grained veneers of birch strip impregnated with resin over a thin sheet of Bakelite on one or both sides. The laminate was then cured under heat and pressure. Later La-9 and La-11 fighters employed much more metal in their structure, sacrificing some of the manoeuverability of their predecessors. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Thompson Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 2 hours ago, Vitor Costa said: Incredible how a machine could be so effective using so much wood. All wartime Russian fighter aircraft used significant amounts of laminated or otherwise processed wood in their wing and fuselage construction, in the forms detailed by Ed Russell. And don't forget the DeHavilland Mosquito! John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 3 hours ago, Ed Russell said: Later La-9 and La-11 fighters employed much more metal in their structure, sacrificing some of the manoeuverability of their predecessors. It's worth pointing out the non-obvious truth that metal aircraft structures are lighter then wooden ones, because the variable and unpredictable nature of wood means that greater thicknesses are required than ideally necessary. Which is a benefit of using resin-impregnated wood, as its properties are more predictable. However, given the complete change of wing design on the La-9 and 11, I suspect that this had rather more effect on their manoeuvrability than a few kilograms change in the structure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRK4m Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 5 hours ago, Graham Boak said: However, given the complete change of wing design on the La-9 and 11, I suspect that this had rather more effect on their manoeuvrability than a few kilograms change in the structure. Exactly - La-9 and -11 had laminar-flow wings (the Russians had received a dozen of Allison-Mustangs and 2000+ P-63 Kingcobras during the war :)) that usually mean reduced manoeuvrability... Cheers Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jure Miljevic Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Hello I am glad I could help, Vitor. Jerzy and Ed, I completely agree with you both. Cheers Jure 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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