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Re: Wood? .... it's called Metalite

Posted by Richard Allnutt on Fri Dec 13, 2002 02:41:04 PM

In reply top Wood? posted by Chris Martin on Fri Dec 13, 2002 02:20:57 PM

The composite material you are talking about is called Metallite, and is a sandwich of balsa wood, a honeycomb-like material, and a layer of aluminum skin. I think it might be a Vought idea, because I haven't seen it in other aircraft in quite the same way, but they used it a lot on wing and tail surfaces in the F6U and F7U. It was also used in the horizontals on late model F4U's as well.

It was used for its lightness, and strength. I don't know how effective it was, but I am sure it's a bugger to restore something with this material in it... in fact, I don't know how you would, since there are intangibles like glue in there, which are harder to guarantee for airworthy uses in combinations like those employed in Metallite.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Richard

: Wood in the wings? That's sometihng I'd never thought abo
: ut it, I'd just assumed that jets were pretty much all alu
: minum (well, unless you're using titaium, boron, compsites
: ...) Yeah, PLEASE piut the pics on a web page
:
: Chris

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