I have mentioned before my appreciation for Fred Weick's Ercoupe design, especially the wing construction, but I also prefer working with wood. A few wooden Ercoupes were actually designed and built during WWII in an attempt to use non-strategic material but nothing came of it. They were reportedly a little heavier but much quieter than the metal and fabric originals. The pen and ink drawing below is actually the wooden version with the distinctive reinforcing ribs on either side of the cockpit.
I am most interested in adapting the Ercoupe-style Warren-truss two-spar wing to a simple, fabric-covered cantilever monoplane, my stab at a 21st century VP-2. The idea would be to go with a square-cut, constant-chord wing and full-span ailerons to reduce the parts count to just four ribs (end ribs, diagonals, nose ribs, aileron ribs). I could also see doing the wing in three sections (straight center section without ailerons, outer sections with ailerons and dihedral) to reduce workshop size requirements. Overall it seems like a very straightforward way to go, eliminating compression struts or ribs and drag/anti-drag bracing, but I'd love some feedback on the pros and cons.
Cheers,
Matthew
I am most interested in adapting the Ercoupe-style Warren-truss two-spar wing to a simple, fabric-covered cantilever monoplane, my stab at a 21st century VP-2. The idea would be to go with a square-cut, constant-chord wing and full-span ailerons to reduce the parts count to just four ribs (end ribs, diagonals, nose ribs, aileron ribs). I could also see doing the wing in three sections (straight center section without ailerons, outer sections with ailerons and dihedral) to reduce workshop size requirements. Overall it seems like a very straightforward way to go, eliminating compression struts or ribs and drag/anti-drag bracing, but I'd love some feedback on the pros and cons.
Cheers,
Matthew
