Original Posted By: Mpj01(at)aol.com
David,In 1970, when I completed it, my Air Camper weighed 645 lb.empty with a Continental A65 and a 72" Flottorp wooden propel-ler. A three-piece wing with the added weight of fittings, bolts, etc.was used. It was covered with Grade A cotton and had a hand-rubbed dope finish. I installed a C85-12F sans electrics in 1974 and the EW increased by a few pounds.In 1985 I recovered it with polyester fabric weighing about 3.5oz. per square yard, used less dope, and installed a lightweight tailwheel. A C85-8 engine was installed (a bit lighter than the -12)and the dry EW was 630 lbs.So, you see, weight savings can be made with the type of cover-ing and some details, but not very much. The additional wood re-quired for the longer and wider fuselage won't weigh a lot. Thesteel tie straps across the belly will each be two inches longer, sothe weight increase here isn't very much, either. I did, however,beef up the landing gear/lift strut fittings for better durability whenusing rough fields and this added perhaps a pound of steel to thetotal. After literally thousands of landings and takeoffs from bumpyairstrips, they have stood up well.The weights given above reflect a "no frills" airplane with only the "bare necessities" installed (no radio, no upholstery--only one seatcushion, no fibreglas parts, etc.). Since then I have installed verylightweight seat cushions, front and back, to pad my aging bones.And I now have a little hand-held transceiver. Sheer luxury!When I visited him in 1982, BHP himself told me that a one piece wing could save 15 (+) pounds. Of course, one needs the working space to build the wing as a single unit, but there are advantagesin doing so and ordinarily one doesn't remove the wings very often. It is a good idea to remember the words of Bill Stout (Ford Trimotorguy):"Simplicate and add lightness!"Graham________________________________________________________________________________Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 14:18:51 EST