L-2 wing rebuild

[Ragwing nut]

I am currently rebuilding a BC12 wing and have the Taylorcraft drawing of the L2 spar. Is the L2 spar exactly the same as the BC12 spar except for the spar thickness?

nope, completely different dimensions

[n6346m]

I am currently rebuilding a BC12 wing and have the Taylorcraft drawing of the L2 spar. Is the L2 spar exactly the same as the BC12 spar except for the spar thickness?

The only differences that I could notice by looking at them side-by-side is the thickness of the wood and the number and location of the wing attachment bolt holes, as shown in previously posted photos.
In addition, the L-2 has an additional hole for the jury strut attachment. The lift strut attachment point and hole pattern look identical in both spars but I would use the actual hardware to locate the holes as I would with the wing to fuselage attachment hardware. Otherwise, the spars seem identical in overall length, height, and location of compression struts and ribs etc. I have a full length video video scanning the full length of all three (the new L-2 spar, the old L-2 spar, and the BC-12 spar) side-by-side, but I couldn't post it because of the size.

By the way, I'm curious as to where you finally found your spar spruce.

Bob Picard

[taylorukuk]

Bob

Thanks for the info.
In the UK there simply isnt anyone selling aircraft quality spruce.

In the end following a tipoff from another restorer I contacted a Company in the UK that manufactured yacht spars. They had lots of spruce in stock but of questionable quality however they had a big batch of spruce arriving from Canada first week of June.

They selected the best planks for me - Total cost for 4 spars machined to size $1033 delivered.

[n6346m]

Good job. Good for you for getting those at a good price. I got my spruce from a company in Western Washington that is know for supplying wooden spars and masts for sailboats as well.

[n6346m]

I finally got the fully signed off 337 field approval for material substitution from the feds yesterday.
Bob Picard

[Bob turner]

Not really a Tcart guy - my experience is mostly Cubs - but just finished covering an L2. Yes, that front spar is difficult to inspect. I cut access holes in each bay for pre-cover inspection, varnish, and later condition inspections.

If these wings had looked like yours, this one would have been a “strike” aircraft.

[n6346m]

It's been a while since i updated my progress on my L-2 on this forum, that is if anyone even reads these forums anymore since facebook has pretty well ruined most of the the good forums on the internet. The Stinson and Corvair forums among them.
In my last report I mentioned that the FAA has signed off on the 337 for the replacement of the wood parts (except for the spars) with aluminum. I have now a completed left wing except for the fabric and I have started on the right wing. The right wing front spar is in excellent condition and will be reused with no more than cleaning up and varnishing. The rear spar is still questionable and if replacement is required we still have a nice piece of spruce left over from making the front spar for the left wing.
One of the concerns from the beginning was what the weight difference would be between the all wood wing vs the aluminum/wood wing. When we swapped the wings to/from storage and work station we had the opportunity to weigh the two bare wings. Using calibrated aircraft scales the bare aluminum wing came in at 70 lbs while the bare wood wing came in at 74 lbs. I was pleasantly surprised because I thought it would be the other way around. I'll take the extra 8 lbs useful load anytime,

Bob Picard
Anchor Point, Alaska

[Hank Jarrett]

Not everyone has left. This site is still FAR superior to FB and I still check it several times a day. We need to keep this Forum alive and active. I check pretty much everything I read on FB. Way too many people who talk a lot but don't really know what they are talking about, plus FB is WAY too unstable! I read till it crashes, then move on to other things. They must hire their IT people from some elementary school.

The GOOD guys are still here. We just need to get active again......myself included!

Hank

[n6346m]

After years of having spilled gas soaking the rear spar, it was decided that we would not re-use it. Thankfully, we still have enough wood left over from making the new front spar.

[n6346m]

New rear spar made and ribs and hardware all installed. A lot quicker than the left wing since we had all the parts already modified and painted. Only need to install the leading and trailing edges and both wings will be ready for fabric.

[everell]

i am following your wing rebuild thread because I have started a rebuild of a L2B Taylorcraft. First question....is there a STM that covers using aluminum leading edge material rather than that thin wood? What thickness aluminum did you use? Can the aluminum leading edge be used if wood wing ribs are used? Did you use aluminum covering from top of wing spar, around the front of the ribs to the bottom of the wing spar...OR...did you only partially cover the front of the wing ribs? Some pictures would be helpful. Is same STM used to cover aluminum trailing edge rather than wood?