Stringer standoffs

[TimHicks]

Does everybody have little wooden spacers like this between the fuselage stringers and the frame?

When I took the stringers off of the frame, I measured each standoff distance and saved all the spacers.

I figure I'll put it back together with all the same standoff spacing.

I just wanted to confirm with y'all that this was normal.

I also measured my door frame shims and plan to shim them with the same spacings to ensure the doors will fit the same.

[Robert Lees]

Re: Stringer standoffs

Hi Tim,
Can't help you with the spacers on the stringers...mine were sitting on welded-on stand-offs like this:



I have no idea if these were original, and they obviously wouldn't work with your "W" stringers.

Anyway, the real reason for my reply is that you may recall that I cheated when I did my door hinges on my post-war BC12D. As with yours, the door hinges are screwed to the wood frames. In my pre-war (now sold), the hinges were welded to the steel structure, and I liked that idea.

So that's what I did for my post-war:



A few more details on my rebuild page here about 1/5 the way down.

I know it's not original (or as per the design hence not per our friends in high places) but I tell you there's no slop in the door movement now.

I hope all is well with you down Louisiana way... I still love the book!

Best regards,
Rob

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Stringer standoffs

My stringers are all like Roberts, but then we had wood stringers.
My stringers did have a "mushroom" shaped cross section, not a rectangle.
Hank

[paulnuss]

Re: Stringer standoffs

My '46 BC12-D1 had wooden standoffs with the "hat section" aluminum stringers, as installed new from the factory.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Stringer standoffs

The extruded aluminum stringers came in sometime VERY late in 45 or more likely 46. Earlier pre-war planes had the wood stringers "tied" to the fuselage diagonals. Sometime (I think, but don't know for sure) in 41 they started to weld little clips to the diagonals to hold the wood stringers. The post war extruded hat section stringers were held with springs, but many are tied on now.
Hank