Wing Anatomy

chrisg · Post by **chrisg** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:21 am

Hi all,
I have some questions about Maule wings:

1. Do the wings have a spar doubler above the lift strut attach fitting like a Piper wing? Do the longer wings have a bigger spar doubler (since they become a semi-cantilever wing), or is the spar strong enough to handle the increased span without a doubler?

2. Is the spar the same material on the long and short wings?

3. What are the approximate weights of the short and long wings (e.g. M5 - 30'-10" and M7 32"-8")?

4. How much weight do the extended tanks add (typical scenario, best guess)?

Thanks.

chrisg · Post by **chrisg** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:54 am

I know Island Flyer (Rhys) recently rebuilt his wings. Rhys, do you (or anyone else) have any pictures that might show the spar at the lift strut attach location?

Duane · Post by **Duane** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:54 pm

Hi Chris,

Send me an email and I can email you a print of the strut attach area.. all spars are made out of 6061-T6 alum.. not sure if I can help a lot with the 2nd 2 questions. but will see..

Island Flyer · Post by **Island Flyer** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 8:18 pm

Hello Chris,

If I can figure out how I'll post a photo of the spar at the strut (I have to go to how attach a photo post). Send me an e-mail at spoordds@msn.com and I will email you about 10 photos that I recently took of the inside of the wing.

Island Flyer · Post by **Island Flyer** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:12 pm

https://picasaweb.google.com/1160313345 ... directlink

Here are 10 photos.

chrisg · Post by **chrisg** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:15 am

Thanks Rhys! I also got a drawing from Maule that shows the attach fitting, but these pictures show so much more.

What I've learned so far, is that there isn't a spar doubler above the fitting on the M-5. Apparently the longer wing Maules don't have one either, but use a little heavier gauge spar material (or at least the spar cap is heavier) to handle the loads of being semi-cantilever.

aero101 · Post by **aero101** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:39 pm

Can't give you an exact weight of the Maule wings, but can tell you they're heavier then most metal wings off other types of aircraft. There's not a lot of difference weight wise between the long and short wings...

chrisg · Post by **chrisg** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 5:32 pm

Just checking again...does anyone know the weight of an M5 wing?

Island Flyer · Post by **Island Flyer** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:42 pm

Hey Chris,

I'll be at Tim's on Thursday and will weigh one of the M-7 long wings and he has a shorter wing in the hangar also. I'll let you know.

maules.com · Post by **maules.com** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:38 pm

All Maule wings from 1994 were made with .025 instead of .020 top skin thickness.
M5 30'10" to tip of delta'd droop tips
M6 1981-1986 32'11" to tips of delta'd droop tips
M6 1986 32'11" to furthest point on square tips
MX7 1984 to 1993 30'10" square tips
MX7 1993 on 32'11" square tips
M7 1984 33'8" square tips
M7 1993 on 32'11" square tips
All above except M5 have torque tube flap mechanism
Each wing has different aileron and flap lengths and some wings had different flap/aileron lengths according to year.
Fuel tanks also evolved with many different capacities and two types of tanks .
To be able to get any acurate weights you will have to know what wing from which year with which control surface configurations.
There are other weight changing items over the years. Strobes, lights, antannae, tanks, wingtips, servos, venting systems etc.

chrisg · Post by **chrisg** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:09 am

I don't need an exact weight for all configurations, but I'd like an approximate weight for any M5 wing. If no one has an M5 wing near a scale, then the weight of a shorter MX7 wing (or even a longer wing) would at least help me approximate.

I'm trying to get a sense of how Maule wing weights compare to Piper wings (cubs and pacers). I know they're heavier, but how much heavier?

This isn't super high priority, and I certainly don't expect anyone to spend too much time on it....only if its somewhat easy and you're also curious about the weights.

maules.com · Post by **maules.com** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:18 pm

The wing is aproximately 115 lbs with fuel tanks plus aileron and flap at about 6lb each.
The heaviest high gross special turbine wing was closer to 130 approx.

chrisg · Post by **chrisg** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 4:17 pm

Jeremy,
Wow, thanks for the quick response. Just so I'm clear...when you say "The wing", you are talking about an M5 wing, right?

Thanks!

maules.com · Post by **maules.com** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:49 am

The problem with precise weights is that some wings of same model have wingtip differences of a couple of lbs and paint and corrosion proof differences of up to 10lbs. So 115 is ballpark and you may find an M5 wing lighter or heavier.

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