Ron Wanttaja wrote:
On 20 Oct 2006 15:47:10 -0700, "
wrote:

Howdy,

After reading a bit about the early Lockheed Vega, the Focker Albatross
DIII and the Dehavilland Mosquito I was a bit suprised that plywood
monocoque construction hasn't been used in any more modern airplanes.
(Or at least none that I can think of) What gives? Is it cheaper to use
glass than wood? Anyone here have any experience with this type of
construction and how it compares to truss style construction?

Jim gave the Falco as an example of a monocoque wood aircraft, but keep in mind
that the three you mentioned are *molded* wood aircraft. Not really efficient,
for a homebuilt, unless you're planning on selling kits.

Ron Wanttaja

It also depends on what you consider more modern, the last of the
all-wood european sailplanes were in the 70's but the performance had
reached impressive levels. The most common would have to be the Ka6cr
but the K6e was definitely the 15metre machine to have, far superior to
most other 15m gliders of the time. Wood gliders finished for the most
part with the SHK1, the 17m follow-on to the 15m Standard Austria. It
was a plain timber monocoque, but it made good use of glass for
finishing the wings and nose.
There's still a few gliders for homebuilding made with a monocoque
construction, but I think even a simple monocoque is probably just too
much work for a one-off.

Carlo Selman