In a recent conversation re the modern 'Plastic Planes' vs the more traditional metal airframes, it was claimed that the 'Plastics' have no proven method of fixing for stresses caused by e.g.
- hitting a wing on the hangar door,
- or having something heavy dropped onto a wing,
- or, perhaps even a 'heavy landing' where damage may or may not be visible,
(You get the idea...)
whereas in a metal airframe, the damage is usually apparent and 'easily' fixable.
So, Can anyone offer an opinion, of just where do the stresses go if, for example, a wing is run into the hangar door?
Is the damage limited to that section of the wing?
Or is it transmitted through to the wing attachment points on the fuselage, and maybe rip out the wing joining points etc etc.?
The conversation started with 'corrosion issues' and then just morphed into the airframe life and repairs of the 'plastics' vs the 'metals', sort of thing.....
Are the newer compounds etc easily / economically fixed to fly again, or are they a 'throw away' item..??
I did try a search, but it didn't come up with an answer...so,.....
Cheers guys and gals....
