A rather common occurrence these days is to hear of young aviators being surprised to discover airplanes are still made of wood and fabric. As a young man, I remember seeing Piper Cubs and Aeronca Chiefs at the local airfield. There was no consideration at the time of materials used to make these planes. I just knew I wanted to fly! After my tour in the Navy as an Avionics Technician, I came home with the underlying thought that all aircraft are made of lightweight metals.

Aluminum became the material of choice by manufacturers such as Cessna and Piper some 40 years ago. This likely came into being as the many advantages in production and manufacturing became apparent along with the distinct advantages for owners. Forming and shaping metal is practical for manufacturing, but it is not always practical for the homebuilt designs. Working with metal requires tools, knowledge and skills that many people do not have. You can accomplish wood and fabric aircraft designs with skills often learned in high school or passed from generation to generation.

Wood is actually a great material to use for your homebuilt. It is easy to cut and can be accomplished with the use of common tools you may already have in your shop or in your garage. You can form wood into many shapes by making it flexible and pliable with hot water. There are very few worries about having wood around the home because it is natural, non-toxic and safe. I understand that a pound of wood used to build an airplane has nearly twice the tensile strength as a pound of aluminum. Furthermore, modern fabrics are tough enough to withstand much more than you would think.

Because wood is a natural material, it is not subject to tight manufacturing tolerances. Individuals trained to do so hand pick aircraft grade wood from lots of high quality lumber. Of course, there are requirements to meet in order to categorize the wood as aircraft quality, but hidden flaws in the wood may get past the inspector. If you choose to build with wood, always be careful to re-examine each piece before using it.

Wood is organic and will decay without proper protection from temperature and humidity extremes. Aircraft grade Sitka Spruce is the most common lumber and is getting more expensive as it becomes harder to find. This tree is quite often more than 50 years old when harvested. Douglas Fir also offers an excellent strength-to-weight ratio, but may be harder to locate as certified aircraft quality.

There are issues with using adhesives that may be undesirable for some. Proper ventilation usually resolves the majority of potential problems. There are several adhesive manufacturers from which to choose. An epoxy product called T-88 has a good all around record of accomplishment for safety and reliability when used according to the instructions. You simply join the wood with your chosen adhesive in a “butt-joint” configuration sandwiched with plywood gussets to add strength. Properly designed and glued joints are actually stronger than the individual wood members. The completed aircraft structure is fabric covered toward the end of the building process. This fabric is usually a Dacron or Polyester that will shrink when heated with a clothes iron. You will find the tight envelope of fabric adds even more strength.

Wood makes for interesting and enjoyable work to the builder of an experimental aircraft. You can spend a lot of the building time in your basement or in your small shop making the individual parts out of the small pieces before the larger needed space becomes an issue. This gives you time to think about how and where the final assembly will occur.

Wood and fabric airplanes tend to be lightweight and perform very well in all respects. Fisher Flying Products has a full line of one and two seat wooden aircraft available. Pietenpol Air Camper and Loehle Aviation also specialize in excellent wood and fabric designs. There is the Bowers Fly Baby and the Evans Volksplane designs to consider. The list goes on! Just be sure that you are choosing a proven design before the purchase. Find an aviation group on the internet with primary discussion on the make or model of interest. The builders and flyers of these are generally open to helping other aviators. This is where you can find the grass roots information to compare with manufacturer’s literature in order to help make a good decision.