Wood Spars

[LABrusse]

I would like to find a A&P or IA who can tell me if my wood spars in a 1939 Taylorcraft are OK or need to be replaced. I live near Carson City, NV. Any suggestions??
Thank you, Larry

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Wood Spars

If you have some good photos the folks here won't be able to certify they are good, but may be able to see something to save you the cost of inspection by seeing something bad.
Hank

Plus we all like to look at any photos of Taylorcraft parts!

[Jim Herpst]

Re: Wood Spars

I would take a hole saw in a drill and drill out boring holes to see how good the wood looks. Then after seeing the wood is good I would replace them. They tought this method in Poland before the big war.

All seriousness Very good question you have and its dammed important to find someone that truly has the knowledge and wont look at lines like where they were originally glued together at the factory and claim cracks. Like wise they can actually look and see what may indeed be unserviceable. Its a slipppery slope. I dont agree with folks who immediately say" well they are old they need replaced " Wrong again . Hope someone here gives you a good knowlegable sole. They are getting harder and harder to find easily ...and honestly

[Jim Herpst]

Re: Wood Spars

If you have some good photos the folks here won't be able to certify they are good, but may be able to see something to save you the cost of inspection by seeing something bad.
Hank

Plus we all like to look at any photos of Taylorcraft parts!

You will get answers all over the map here. But still I would be interested? in lookin at good pictures inch by inch ???

[DPKII]

Re: Wood Spars

Larry,

Have you seen something that is suspect? Are the wings uncovered?

For years I wondered about the condition of my spars as it is hard to get a good view through the inspection holes. I knew the aileron spars were suspect. When I took the plane down for rebuild it was easy to see that they were not serviceable. Both were soft around the hinge points where water had wicked in through the bolt holes and one had delaminated on the original glue joints. It literally fell apart once I pulled the ribs off.

The wing spars were fine. Both were non laminated. One side looked to be original (old dark stained varnish), and the other side had been replaced since new. A new coat of epoxy varnish and they were ready to fly for another few decades.

As mentioned don't dismiss spars as bad just because they are old and may be ugly. There may be perfect old growth spruce under that varnish. I don't think the new spruce is as nice as the old.

I have rebuilt quiet a few Stearman wings in my spare time. We build the new wings with all new wood and usually get the usable hardware from old duster wings. These wings have been laying around mostly outdoors, some uncovered for years. The spars look horrible. Some have overspray paint on them and they all smell like a crop-duster. Originally we threw them on the burn pile. A few years ago I decided to see what the wood underneath looked like. After ripping some of them on the table saw I was amazed. The wood underneath was perfect. Most smell like chemicals, but the wood quality and grain is perfect. Some have a little rot around nails and bolt holes which is to be expected since they have been in the weather but overall the spruce is very nice. I have now started ripping them into usable sizes for my model airplanes. I have an old timer model I designed that has all the stringers and spars from old Stearman wings.

David

[waltermrich]

Re: Wood Spars

I was just looking in the current Wag Aero catalog and in the Taylorcraft section it mentions they are now selling Douglas Fir spar blanks, (FAA approved) as well as Spruce, Does that mean they aqquired a special certification or are they just going by what is already written in the FAA's AC43.13-1B publication?