Aluminum differences

No I include structural parts in my discussion. There is no reason why
structural parts should not be made from the alloys under discussion. They
can be, have been and will be ... you just need two important ingredients:

1. Data on the strength and fatigue characteristics so you can do the
analysis and ensure that the sections are large enough.

2. A paper trail providing an acceptable level of quality assurance for the
material.

You can built an airplane out of any material you want if it satisfies these
two requirements - granted some materials are more efficient (better
"strength to weight" ratio than others).

I don't see the relevance to Zenair and blind (POP) fasteners.





"Orval Fairbairn" wrote in message
news ...
In article ,
Philippe wrote:

Orval Fairbairn wrote:



6063 is commercial cheese ... would be the lower strength of the
three
alloys mentioned. Don't have data handly but you can find it on the
web.

Nothing stopping you using it in an airplane if you select an
appropriate
size to account for its lower strength. I have used it in some
modifications to a restricted category aircraft. Just be aware that
you
cannot by 6063 to an accepted aeronautical spec such as QQ_A Fed Spec
etc
so you might want to allow an extra margin of safety to account for
the
commercial nature of the material.


Bottom line: DON'T do it! Real, aircraft grade aluminum is not all
that
expensive -- just check the Airparts catalog or their ad in Sport
Aviation. 2024-T3 is the standard aircraft structural aluminum, and
substituting a lesser grade only adds weight and can reduce safety in
structural applications.

Are you sure that all aircraft parts are designed for ultimate stress
ability. Sometime, it's for stability in compression and the best
ultimate
resistance is not needed.
For example, a 0.5mm skin on a MCR01 is oversized.
Another example: Zenith aircraft don't use 2024.


By

You should note that I specified STRUCTURAL aluminum. Yes, nonstructural
parts are made for other reasons and have a places for other grades of
aluminum.

BTW, Zenith also uses pop rivets rather than driven rivets, so they
should not be used as an example.