All the wing components are now complete except the ribs - they are next. Fortunately, they will be fast and easy. They are not a built-up truss-style rib, but cut out of a single piece of basswood with a spruce capstrip.
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| Original rib |
Here's another shot showing a compression rib also. Nothing went to waste in 1928. It looks like this compression rib was made from a shipping container! Note the stenciling.
Andy is going to help with the ribs. He made a template and we are simply going to cut them out on a router table. What would normally take weeks and months if these were built-up, can be done in about a day!
Some additional comments about the airfoil. Original factory brochures I have list the airfoil as a Gottingen 436. I plotted one of these out, but it does not match the original ribs. I also tried a Clark Y. It is used on the OX-5 Swallow - still not right. I tried several USA airfoils to no avail. Giving up, I decided to use the originals as a pattern . Whatever it is, the airplane flew with these at one point in its life.
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