In Ron Webb wrote:

Agreed...but if it took 30 years to rust out the back of the longerons
on your new float equipped Bearhawk to the point of them being unsafe,
since they are .049" 4130 - but it would take 100 years to do the same
thing to ..063 1010 --that might be enough to tip the scales if the
weight differance was 20 pounds or so...

My position is that if the lower longerons are getting rusty, there are
other parts in there that I need to be just as concerned about. Beefing
up parts doesn't make the airframe any stronger necessarily, it only
shifts the weak point elsewhere. I would expect that to be true of
corrosion issues as well as overall strength. I would rather go the
extra mile with corrosion protection measures NOW while the plane is
under construction, than add a bunch of unneeded weight by making
everything thicker. In 20-30 years I will most likely want to tear the
fabric off and inspect everything closely no matter what anyway. I've
got a sandblaster and I'm not afraid to use it.

OK, I'll admit it...I made the longerons on my MoHawk out of 1/2 x.
032 4130 too, just like the plans say...but there are MANY things I'd
do differently if I was starting over...like start with a set of
Bearhawk plans for instance;^}

I hear that a lot. 8^)

----------------------------------------------------
Del Rawlins-
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