Under belly...
 

W8 Top idea. Most folk looking over an a/c ...doing a DI, whatever dont look underneath.

Intersesting things you will see....
Air flow lines of the oil streaks. Missing inspection hole cover. Chaffs on U/c hydraulic line. Screw or 2 missing from hub cap. Stain and fuel fumes wafting from drain holes !! :eek:..but its a long story.

Not sure that on a warm afternoon I would have lasted 45 minutes without dozing off.

But on some occasions its well worth a look :ok:

It's a piece of cake to see everything on the underside, once you've landed upside down. :)

Not the same thing at all. Here's is Jim Bede's version:

http://gallery.wonderart.us/Aviation...4-17-35-X3.jpg

Obviously in a jig, prior to welding(?)--is that the final finish on the cut edges? it doesn't look like the finish you would get from water jet or bandsaw cutting. Speaking from a position of total ignorance, obviously, am just curious.

That wing structure looks very heavy indeed. Is that rust on the ribs?
If so looks like a heavy steel versus a lightweight aluminum.

Looks to me like those ribs are made of honeycomb composite skinned in aluminium... Making them very light and incredibly stiff.

Sure is honey comb and light weight tube, whole thing probably weighs less than 5 Kg

I'm used to seeing RV ribs. Should be pretty darn strong with the dual alloy surrounding the honeycomb.

I don't think that the ribs being honeycomb makes them any stronger (or lighter). Since the ribs are basically only loaded in shear, having a thicker rib structure doesn't benefit you much. The honeycomb stuff in the middle is thus not adding anything really.

As far as I understand, the wing skins are bonded to the ribs, as they are also on the Grumman AA-series, I think. I don't know how the results compare pound-for-pound compared to a conventional RV-type construction, but I guess you do get to play with glue! :)

As I understand it, the tubular section is also known as a torque tube, and its simple principle is to prevent twist in the structure that it's central within.
A number of American "gooseneck" trailer constructors use the torque tube design to prevent twist in the frame, particularly with the longer trailers.
The tube is only welded at the ends, it merely floats in all the other components it fits through.

Folks,
I had the very great pleasure of meeting Jim Bede on several occasions, we discussed this wing at length. A company with which I was associated at the time was his agent for Western Europe.
Part of the reason for this wing structure was that it was very easy for amateur builders to construct.
On the original design ( for an Experimental Amateur Built aircraft) it took about 20 minutes max. for two people to remove the wings to minimise hangar space.
Tootle pip!!