splischke
Scott Plischke Sonerai IIL N994SP
Many newcomers to the Sonerai have questions about the various wing designs. To help shed some light on this subject, I've assembled a few posts by Sonerai expert and Sonerai Newsletter Editor Fred Keip. I you haven't done so already, be sure to subscribe to the Newsletter and purchase the back issues by contacting Fred at [email protected].
-Scott
Post on Sonerai.net
1. The only plans set that comes with the "S" wing drawings is the "Stretched" Sonerai II. Those wing drawings have an "S" in front of the page number. The plans that are currently being supplied for the regular (non-stretched) Sonerai II have the "B" wing drawings. (Sonerai II plans that were supplied prior to 1984 have drawings for the original, non-reinforced, 9-rib "A" wing.) The difference between the "S" wing and the"B" wing is that the "S" wing uses the same rib in both wings, with all of the rib flanges pointing to the left. The "B" wing uses LH and RH ribs, with the rib flanges in the right wing pointing to the left and the rib flanges in the left wing pointing to the right. The "B" wings are mirror images of each other, while the "S" wings are not. The "S" wing drawings show the additional parts needed to build a wing walk into the LH wing.
2. The Sonerai I wing drawings are the original drawings. Do not use the rib drawings in these plans, but use the drawing in the Wing Construction Manual, because it will allow the use of the wing fixture shown in the manual.
3. The Wing Construction Manual is written for use with the "S" wing drawings. It was not intended to be an exact step-by-step procedure for building the "B" wing, or the Sonerai I wing. It will be close for the "B" wing, and less so for the Sonerai I wing. When building the "B" or Sonerai I wing, you will need to study the drawings that you have, and compare to the manual. The drawings will define the building requirements.
4. If you are building a Sonerai I, you can simply build the wings as shown in the drawings, and have a great flying, +/- 6 g, little airplane. Or, you can add the reinforcement modification to wings that was recommended for the early Sonerai II. (It was this mod that evolved into the "B" and "S" wing designs.) This mod was required for all Sonerai I's that flew in the Formula V racing circuit. You'll have a great flying, +/- 6 g, little airplane that has even more safety factor built into the wings. If you'd like a set of the mod drawings, contact me off site at [email protected].
Post on Sonerai.net
What to look for to determine if your wings have the spar modification...
1. A pair of 1-1/4"x1-1/4"x1/8" aluminum angles riveted (or bolted) to the top set of spar caps near the root end of the wing.
2. A 1"x1"x1/8" aluminum angle, and a .025" thick sheet stiffener with a bend riveted to each front and main rib and the spar on the first five sets of ribs. These pieces will be mounted on the side of the rib facing the wing tip.
If they are there, you're good to go. If they are not, it will be necessary to remove the inboard wing skin and add the stiffeners if you want to fly at a gross weight of more than 950 lbs gross (if not, you can leave the wing alone, lower the red line speed to 170 mph, and not exceed 3.8 g's at gross weight). I have copies of the modification drawings that I'd be willing to send you. Just send me a couple bucks to offset the copying and mailing costs.
Post on old Yahoo! Group
There is no advantage of the S-wing over the B-wing. Both wings have 11 ribs in each panel, along with all the spar reinforcements. The primary reason the S-wing was developed was because John Monnett's wing rib supplier could no longer supply ribs with right-facing flanges, so the S-wing has only left-facing ribs. This complicates the construction of the LH wing a little bit, but from the standpoint of strength and functionality, they are the same. You can tell the difference by looking at the root rib of each wing. If you can see the rib flange in each wing, it's a B-wing. If you can't see the flange on the LH wing, it's an S-wing.
Fred
Another Post by Fred...
There are four versions of the Sonerai II wing. They are all the same length and chord, and all use the same NACA 64A212 modified airfoil.
1. The "A" wing was the original design wing. It has nine wing ribs in each panel, with each of the ribs attached to the main spar with a pair of 1/8" stainless Cherry "N" pop rivets.
2. The modified "A" wing: In 1983, Monnett Experimental released a service bulletin requiring the modification of the original "A" wing if the owner wished to fly aerobatics in the airplane at 750 lbs gross weight. This modification consisted of the addition of 1-1/4"x1-1/4"x1/8" aluminum angles to the top set of spar caps, plus the addition of the 1"x1"x1/8" aluminum angles at the front and main rib attachments to the main spar for the first five ribs and mid way between these ribs. There is also a sheet aluminum reinforcement on each rib where the angles attach. This mod significantly increased the safety margin to failure when performing aerobatics.
3. The "B" wing followed the release of the "A" wing mod, and incorporated the mods, along with two extra ribs in the inboard half of the wing, resulting in 11 ribs in each panel. The primary reason for the the extra ribs was to make it easier to incorporate a wing walk for the low wing airplane.
4. The "S" wing was released when the "stretched" version of the airplane was introduced. The "S" wing and the "B" wing are essentially the same with one exception. On the "A" and "B" wings there are LH and RH wing ribs, meaning that in the right wing all of the rib flanges point to the left toward the fuselage, and in the left wing, all of the rib flanges point to the right toward the fuselage. In the "S" wing, all of the wing rib flanges point to the left, meaning that in the left wing the rib flanges point away from fuselage. This results in some slight structural differences in the left wing.
With all of this being said, the modified "A" wing, the "B" wing, and the "S" wing are structurally equivalent, and allow the gross weight to be increased from 950 lbs for the original "A" wing to 1150 lbs.
I hopes helps clarify things a bit. (For those of you with copies of the back issues, there is more information on page 3 of the April-May-June 1997 issue.)
-Scott
Post on Sonerai.net
1. The only plans set that comes with the "S" wing drawings is the "Stretched" Sonerai II. Those wing drawings have an "S" in front of the page number. The plans that are currently being supplied for the regular (non-stretched) Sonerai II have the "B" wing drawings. (Sonerai II plans that were supplied prior to 1984 have drawings for the original, non-reinforced, 9-rib "A" wing.) The difference between the "S" wing and the"B" wing is that the "S" wing uses the same rib in both wings, with all of the rib flanges pointing to the left. The "B" wing uses LH and RH ribs, with the rib flanges in the right wing pointing to the left and the rib flanges in the left wing pointing to the right. The "B" wings are mirror images of each other, while the "S" wings are not. The "S" wing drawings show the additional parts needed to build a wing walk into the LH wing.
2. The Sonerai I wing drawings are the original drawings. Do not use the rib drawings in these plans, but use the drawing in the Wing Construction Manual, because it will allow the use of the wing fixture shown in the manual.
3. The Wing Construction Manual is written for use with the "S" wing drawings. It was not intended to be an exact step-by-step procedure for building the "B" wing, or the Sonerai I wing. It will be close for the "B" wing, and less so for the Sonerai I wing. When building the "B" or Sonerai I wing, you will need to study the drawings that you have, and compare to the manual. The drawings will define the building requirements.
4. If you are building a Sonerai I, you can simply build the wings as shown in the drawings, and have a great flying, +/- 6 g, little airplane. Or, you can add the reinforcement modification to wings that was recommended for the early Sonerai II. (It was this mod that evolved into the "B" and "S" wing designs.) This mod was required for all Sonerai I's that flew in the Formula V racing circuit. You'll have a great flying, +/- 6 g, little airplane that has even more safety factor built into the wings. If you'd like a set of the mod drawings, contact me off site at [email protected].
Post on Sonerai.net
What to look for to determine if your wings have the spar modification...
1. A pair of 1-1/4"x1-1/4"x1/8" aluminum angles riveted (or bolted) to the top set of spar caps near the root end of the wing.
2. A 1"x1"x1/8" aluminum angle, and a .025" thick sheet stiffener with a bend riveted to each front and main rib and the spar on the first five sets of ribs. These pieces will be mounted on the side of the rib facing the wing tip.
If they are there, you're good to go. If they are not, it will be necessary to remove the inboard wing skin and add the stiffeners if you want to fly at a gross weight of more than 950 lbs gross (if not, you can leave the wing alone, lower the red line speed to 170 mph, and not exceed 3.8 g's at gross weight). I have copies of the modification drawings that I'd be willing to send you. Just send me a couple bucks to offset the copying and mailing costs.
Post on old Yahoo! Group
There is no advantage of the S-wing over the B-wing. Both wings have 11 ribs in each panel, along with all the spar reinforcements. The primary reason the S-wing was developed was because John Monnett's wing rib supplier could no longer supply ribs with right-facing flanges, so the S-wing has only left-facing ribs. This complicates the construction of the LH wing a little bit, but from the standpoint of strength and functionality, they are the same. You can tell the difference by looking at the root rib of each wing. If you can see the rib flange in each wing, it's a B-wing. If you can't see the flange on the LH wing, it's an S-wing.
Fred
Another Post by Fred...
There are four versions of the Sonerai II wing. They are all the same length and chord, and all use the same NACA 64A212 modified airfoil.
1. The "A" wing was the original design wing. It has nine wing ribs in each panel, with each of the ribs attached to the main spar with a pair of 1/8" stainless Cherry "N" pop rivets.
2. The modified "A" wing: In 1983, Monnett Experimental released a service bulletin requiring the modification of the original "A" wing if the owner wished to fly aerobatics in the airplane at 750 lbs gross weight. This modification consisted of the addition of 1-1/4"x1-1/4"x1/8" aluminum angles to the top set of spar caps, plus the addition of the 1"x1"x1/8" aluminum angles at the front and main rib attachments to the main spar for the first five ribs and mid way between these ribs. There is also a sheet aluminum reinforcement on each rib where the angles attach. This mod significantly increased the safety margin to failure when performing aerobatics.
3. The "B" wing followed the release of the "A" wing mod, and incorporated the mods, along with two extra ribs in the inboard half of the wing, resulting in 11 ribs in each panel. The primary reason for the the extra ribs was to make it easier to incorporate a wing walk for the low wing airplane.
4. The "S" wing was released when the "stretched" version of the airplane was introduced. The "S" wing and the "B" wing are essentially the same with one exception. On the "A" and "B" wings there are LH and RH wing ribs, meaning that in the right wing all of the rib flanges point to the left toward the fuselage, and in the left wing, all of the rib flanges point to the right toward the fuselage. In the "S" wing, all of the wing rib flanges point to the left, meaning that in the left wing the rib flanges point away from fuselage. This results in some slight structural differences in the left wing.
With all of this being said, the modified "A" wing, the "B" wing, and the "S" wing are structurally equivalent, and allow the gross weight to be increased from 950 lbs for the original "A" wing to 1150 lbs.
I hopes helps clarify things a bit. (For those of you with copies of the back issues, there is more information on page 3 of the April-May-June 1997 issue.)
