L2 Taylorcraft wing leading edge material aluminum or wood

[everell]

I am rebuilding L2B Taylorcraft. The original wings use 1/16 inch plywood for the leading edge of the wings. Has anyone used aluminum instead of wood? What thickness of aluminum? Did you cover the entire front of the wing rib from wing spar top to wing spar bottom or did you only partially cover the front of the wing ribs? Is there a FAA STM approval for using aluminum instead of wood?

[Bigdog]

I have not heard of an STC to use aluminum. If there is, I doubt it would be a one-for-one substitution. My YO-57 has the pre-war all metal wing with, of course, aluminum leading edges. Importantly though, there are half-ribs in each full rib bay to support the leading edge. My wood wing L-2s with the plywood leading edge do not have half-ribs.

[n6346m]

I see that you have read my post in this forum about the total wing rebuild of my L-2B. Except for the spars, I got a field approval to use all aluminum parts where there used to be wood. Obviously you would need a field approval for what you want to do. It seems to me that the problem would be how you attach the aluminum to the wood. In addition, the metal leading edge requires twice as many nose ribs forward of the front spar as the wood ones. The wooden leading edge is structurally better able to resist oil-canning and deforming than aluminum, thereby not needing as much support from the back.
Bob Picard

[n6346m]

What's wrong with your wings now. Can the wood be fixed or replaced? Mine were beyond repair that's why I took such drastic steps
.Bob

[everell]

Thank you Bob for your very helpful information...and the excellent thread covering the wings you rebuilt. I am currently doing a complete rebuild of the right wing. The wing spars are new wood. I am ready to begin drilling. The assembly which attaches the spar to the fuselage has four bolt holes which bolt to the spar. The four holes on my old splintered spar have oversize holes. I assume these holes are oversized for phenolic bushings. You did not give details about this in your wing rebuild. What is the drill size to be used for these oversized holes? Is the hole size the same whether using A65-8 or C85-12 engine? Does someone sell ready to use bushings or do you have to make your own using a phenolic rod? Since you used new wood for one front spar and one rear spar, I assume you are a good source for information on this subject.