Technical Q&A With Bob
Builder Matthew Brennan asks about Bob’s use of aramid composite floorboards in his latest plane, instead of aluminum. Matthew says, “Curious if the Kevlar floorboards “sound” any different than aluminum when in flight. Is “drumming” reduced?”
Bob says, “I wear ear plugs when I fly and it’s hard to tell for sure due to all of the rest of the noise, but the composite floorboards should help dampen some of the noise.”
Builder Collin McDonald noticed some ambiguity about the hardware to use when securing the round tailwheel spring to the fuselage, and made a post on the forum to seek clarity. Should those be AN5 or AN6 bolts?
Bob says, “We’ve used 5/16 and we’ve used 3/8 bolts there, and we’ve never had any problems with those bolts. We’ve used 5/16 on the lighter planes and 3/8 on the heavier planes.” Bob has used 5/16 bolts there on his own planes, and adds, “That stinger is hardened steel. It’s a really big job to drill those out. You don’t want to have to do that.”
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