Bending Upper Front Longerons 6-F-5-3

I am waiting on some aluminum to start on my fuselage, so in the mean time I am planning on tackling bending the upper front longerons.  Do you guys think I should wait until I have more of the fuselage done before I do this, or is it OK to tackle this right now?

Also, I have been hearing from some non-builder types that tell me that I could crack the longerons when doing this. Has anyone had this problem?

 

Also, does anyone have any tips or trick for me in bending the upper front longerons.

 

Furthermore, from watching the 650 building video, apparently the 650 longerons comes pre-bent. So I thought the 601 HDS longerons would be shipped pre-bent as well.  Unfortunatly, this it not the case L .  Did you guys have to bend yours as well?

Views: 287

Comment

You need to be a member of Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers to add comments!

Join Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers

Comment by Marcel S. Mikulec on June 13, 2012 at 8:26pm

Thanks Tim.  I will look up Steven Ward's method.

Comment by Tim Smart on June 10, 2012 at 4:55am
Marcel,

Not disputing what Ian had to say but if you don't have access to a shrinker like Ian suggests there have been several plans builders with different methods of bending thier longerons that worked for them. Steven Ward has a pic and description on his page that uses a very simple jig. There some others who have bent around other jigs with clamps and/or rollers or both but I could not quickly find. I am not that far but when I get there since the angle is not very expensive I think I will try Steven Ward's method.
Comment by Marcel S. Mikulec on June 9, 2012 at 11:32pm

Thanks.  That is some really great information!

Comment by Ian McClelland on June 9, 2012 at 9:19pm

Hi I had to get mine bent for my 601XL (Plans built).

They won't crack as they are made of 6061 T6.

However to bend sucessfully it is necessary to  use a metal shrinker. If you try to bend without this tool you will find it tends to bend in two plains - guess how I know! I had to give mine to an aircraft metal skin shop shring the metal so that it was only bent in the horizontal plain.

And it is possible to damage the material with one of these tools and requires some operator expertise.

New from Zenith:

Zenith Planes For Sale 
  

Classified listing for buying or selling your Zenith building or flying related stuff...

Custom Instrument Panels
for your Zenith:

Custom instrument panels are now available directly from Zenith Aircraft Company exclusively for Zenith builders and owners. Pre-cut panel, Dynon and Garmin avionics, and more.

Zenith Homecoming Tee:

Zenair Floats

Flying On Your Own Wings:
 A Complete Guide to Understanding Light Airplane Design, by Chris Heintz

Builder & Pilot Supplies:

Aircraft Insurance:

 
 

West Coast USA:

 
Pro Builder Assistance:

 

Transition training:

Lavion Aero

K&S Aviation Services

Aircraft Spruce & Specialty for all your building and pilot supplies!

How to videos from HomebuiltHELP.com

Developed specifically for Zenith builders (by a builder) these videos on DVD are a great help in building your own kit plane by providing practical hands-on construction information. Visit HomebuiltHelp.com for the latest DVD titles.

© 2024   Created by Zenith.Aero.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service