The standard for any repair is that it should return the aircraft or component to its original condition in strength, function, and aerodynamic shape. It should also be accomplished in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and/or instructions, or other approved data.
The purpose of repairing all wood structural components is to obtain a structure as strong as the original. Major damage probably requires replacement of the entire damaged assembly, but minor damage can be repaired by removing or cutting away the damaged members and replacing them with new sections. This replacement may be accomplished by gluing, glue and nails, or glue and screw-reinforced splicing.
The purpose of repairing all wood structural components is to obtain a structure as strong as the original. Major damage probably requires replacement of the entire damaged assembly, but minor damage can be repaired by removing or cutting away the damaged members and replacing them with new sections. This replacement may be accomplished by gluing, glue and nails, or glue and screw-reinforced splicing.
Materials
Several forms of wood are commonly used in aircraft.- Solid wood or the adjective “solid” used with such nouns as “beam” or “spar” refers to a member consisting of one piece of wood.
- Laminated wood is an assembly of two or more layers of wood that have been glued together with the grain of all layers or laminations approximately parallel.
- Plywood is an assembled product of wood and glue that is usually made of an odd number of thin plies, or veneers, with the grain of each layer placed 90° with the adjacent ply or plies.
- High-density material includes compreg, impreg, or similar commercially made products, heat-stabilized wood, or any of the hardwood plywoods commonly used as bearing or reinforcement plates.
Suitable Wood
The various species of wood listed in Figure are acceptable for structural purposes when used for the repair of aircraft. Spruce is the preferred choice and the standard by which the other wood is measured. Figure provides a comparison of other wood that may be suitable for aircraft repair. It lists the strength and characteristics of the wood in comparison to spruce. The one item common to all the species is that the slope of the grain cannot be steeper than 1:15.
| Species of Wood | Strength Properties (as compared to spruce) | Maximum Permissible Grain Deviation (slope of grain) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Spruce (Picea) Sitka (P. sitchensis) Red (P. rubra) White (P. glauca) | 100% | 1.15 | Excellent for all uses. Considered standard for this table. |
| Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia) | Exceeds spruce | 1.15 | May be used as substitute for spruce in same sizes or in slightly reduced sizes if reductions are substantiated. Difficult to work with hand tools. Some tendency to split and splinter during fabrication and much greater care in manufacture is necessary. Large solid pieces should be avoided due to inspection difficulties. Satisfactory for gluing . |
| Noble fir (Abies procera, also known as Abies nobilis) | Slightly exceeds spruce except 8% deficient in shear | 1.15 | Satisfactory characteristics of workability, warping, and splitting. May be used as direct substitute for spruce in same sizes if shear does not become critical. Hardness somewhat less than spruce. Satisfactory for gluing. |
| Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) | Slightly exceeds spruce | 1.15 | Less uniform in texture than spruce. May be used as direct substitute for spruce. Upland growth superior to lowland growth. Satisfactory for gluing. |
| Northern white pine, also known as Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) | Properties between 85% and 96% those of spruce | 1.15 | Excellent working qualities and uniform in properties, but somewhat low in hardness and shock-resistance. Cannot be used as substitute for spruce without increase in sizes to compensate for lesser strength. Satisfactory for gluing. |
| Port Orford white cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) | Exceeds spruce | 1.15 | May be used as substitute for spruce in same sizes or in slightly reduced sizes if reductions are substantiated. Easy to work with hand tools. Gluing is difficult, but satisfactory joints can be obtained if suitable precautions are taken. |
| Yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) | Slightly less than spruce except in compression (crushing) and shear | 1.15 | Excellent working qualities. Should not be used as a direct substitute for spruce without carefully accounting for slightly reduced strength properties. Somewhat low in shock-resistance. Satisfactory for gluing. |
Selection and properties of wood for aircraft repairs
All solid wood and plywood used for the construction and repair of aircraft should be of the highest quality and grade. For certificated aircraft, the wood should have traceability to a source that can provide certification to a military specification (MIL-SPEC). The term “aircraft quality” or “aircraft grade” is referred to and specified in some repair documents, but that grade wood cannot be purchased from a local lumber company. To purchase the material, contact one of the specialty aircraft supply companies and request a certification document with the order. The MIL-SPEC for solid spruce is MIL-S-6073 and for plywood it is MIL-P-6070B.When possible, fabricated wood components should be purchased from the aircraft manufacturer, or someone who may have a Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) to produce replacement parts for the aircraft. With either of these sources supplying the wood components, the mechanic can be assured of installing approved material. At the completion of the repair, as always, it is the responsibility of the person returning the aircraft to service to determine the quality of the replacement wood and the airworthiness of the subsequent repair.
To help determine the suitability of the wood, inspect it for defects that would make it unsuitable material to repair or construct an aircraft. The type, location, and amount or size of the defects grade the wood for possible use. All woods used for structural repair of aircraft are classified as softwood. Softwood is typically used for construction and is graded based on strength, load carrying ability, and safety.
Hardwoods, on the other hand, are typically appearance woods and are graded based on the number and size of clear cuttings from the tree.
AC 43.13-1 provides information on the criteria for identifying adhesives that are acceptable to the FAA. It stipulates the following:
New adhesives have been developed in recent years, and some of the older ones are still in use. Some of the more common adhesives that have been used in aircraft construction and repair include casein glue, plastic resin glue, resorcinol glue, and epoxy adhesives.
Casein glue should be considered obsolete for all aircraft repairs. The adhesive deteriorates when exposed to moisture and temperature variations that are part of the normal operating environment of any aircraft.
NOTE: Some modern adhesives are incompatible with casein adhesive. If a joint that has previously been bonded with casein is to be reglued using another type adhesive, all traces of the casein must be scraped off before a new adhesive is applied. If any casein adhesive is left, residual alkalinity may cause the new adhesive to fail to cure properly.
Plastic resin glue, also known as a urea-formaldehyde adhesive, came on the market in the middle to late 1930s. Tests and practical applications have shown that exposure to moist conditions, and particularly to a warm humid environment, under swell-shrink stress, leads to deterioration and eventual failure of the bond. For these reasons, plastic resin glue should be considered obsolete for all aircraft repairs. Discuss any proposed use of this type adhesive on aircraft with FAA engineering prior to use.
Resorcinol glue, or resorcinol-formaldehyde glue, is a two-component synthetic adhesive consisting of resin and a catalyst. It was first introduced in 1943 and almost immediately found wide application in the wood boat-building and wood aircraft industry in which the combination of high durability and moderate-temperature curing was extremely important. It has better wet-weather and ultraviolet (UV) resistance than other adhesives. This glue meets all strength and durability requirements if the fit of the joint and proper clamping pressure results in a very thin and uniform bond line.
The manufacturer’s product data sheets must be followed regarding mixing, usable temperature range, and the open and close assembly times. It is very important that this type of glue is used at the recommended temperatures because the full strength of the joint cannot be relied on if assembly and curing temperatures are below 70 °F. With that in mind, higher temperatures shorten the working life because of a faster cure rate, and open and closed assembly times must be shortened.
Epoxy adhesive is a two-part synthetic resin product that depends less on joint quality and clamping pressure. However, many epoxies have not exhibited joint durability in the presence of moisture and elevated temperatures and are not recommended for structural aircraft bonding unless they meet the acceptable standards set forth by the FAA in AC 43.13-1, as referenced earlier in Wood Aircraft Construction and Repairs post.
RELATED POSTS
To help determine the suitability of the wood, inspect it for defects that would make it unsuitable material to repair or construct an aircraft. The type, location, and amount or size of the defects grade the wood for possible use. All woods used for structural repair of aircraft are classified as softwood. Softwood is typically used for construction and is graded based on strength, load carrying ability, and safety.
Hardwoods, on the other hand, are typically appearance woods and are graded based on the number and size of clear cuttings from the tree.
Defects Permitted
The following defects are permitted in the wood species used for aircraft repair that are identified in Figure:- Cross grain—Spiral grain, diagonal grain, or a combination of the two is acceptable if the grain does not diverge from the longitudinal axis of the material more than specified in Figure column 3. A check of all four faces of the board is necessary to determine the amount of divergence. The direction of free-flowing ink frequently assists in determining grain direction.
- Wavy, curly, and interlocked grain—Acceptable, if local irregularities do not exceed limitations specified for spiral and diagonal grain.
- Hard knots—Sound, hard knots up to 3⁄8-inch in diameter are acceptable if: (1) they are not projecting portions of I-beams, along the edges of rectangular or beveled unrouted beams, or along the edges of flanges of box beams (except in portions of low stress); (2) they do not cause grain divergence at the edges of the board or in the flanges of a beam more than specified in Figure column 3; and (3) they are in the center third of the beam and not closer than 20-inches to another knot or other defect (pertains to 3⁄8-inch knots; smaller knots may be proportionately closer). Knots greater than ¼-inch must be used with caution.
- Pin knot clusters—Small clusters are acceptable if they produce only a small effect on grain direction.
- Pitch pockets—Acceptable in center portion of a beam if they are at least 14-inches apart when they lie in the same growth ring and do not exceed 1½-inches in length by 1⁄8-inch width by 1⁄8-inch depth, and if they are not along the projecting portions of I-beams, along the edges of rectangular or beveled unrouted beams, or along the edges of the flanges of box beams.
- Mineral streaks—Acceptable if careful inspection fails to reveal any decay.
Defects Not Permitted
The following defects are not permitted in wood used for aircraft repair. If a defect is listed as unacceptable, please refer to the previous section, Defects Permitted, for acceptable conditions.- Cross grain—unacceptable.
- Wavy, curly, and interlocked grain – unacceptable.
- Hard knots—unacceptable.
- Pin knot clusters—unacceptable, if they produce large effect on grain direction.
- Spike knots—knots running completely through the depth of a beam perpendicular to the annual rings and appear most frequently in quarter-sawed lumber. Reject wood containing this defect.
- Pitch pockets—unacceptable.
- Mineral streaks—unacceptable, if accompanied by decay.
- Checks, shakes, and splits—checks are longitudinal cracks extending, in general, across the annual rings. Shakes are longitudinal cracks usually between two annual rings. Splits are longitudinal cracks caused by artificially induced stress. Reject wood containing these defects.
- Compression—very detrimental to strength and is difficult to recognize readily, compression wood is characterized by high specific gravity, has the appearance of an excessive growth of summer wood, and in most species shows little contrast in color between spring wood and summer wood. If in doubt, reject the material or subject samples to toughness machine test to establish the quality of the wood. Reject all material containing compression wood.
- Compression failures—caused from overstress in compression due to natural forces during the growth of the tree, felling trees on rough or irregular ground, or rough handling of logs or lumber. Compression failures are characterized by a buckling of the fibers that appears as streaks substantially at right angles to the grain on the surface of the piece, and vary from pronounced failures to very fine hairlines that require close inspection to detect. Reject wood containing obvious failures. If in doubt, reject the wood or make a further inspection in the form of microscopic examination or toughness test, the latter being more reliable.
- Tension—forming on the upper side of branches and leaning trunks of softwood trees, tension wood is caused by the natural overstressing of trying to pull the branches and leaning trunk upright. It is typically harder, denser, and may be darker in color than normal wood, and is a serious defect, having higher than usual longitudinal shrinkage that may break down due to uneven shrinkage. When in doubt, reject the wood.
- Decay—rot, dote, red heart, purple heart, etc., must not appear on any piece. Examine all stains and discoloration carefully to determine whether or not they are harmless or in a stage of preliminary or advanced decay.
Glues (Adhesives)
Because adhesives play a critical role in the bonding of aircraft structure, the mechanic must employ only those types of adhesives that meet all of the performance requirements necessary for use in certificated aircraft. The product must be used strictly in accordance with the aircraft and adhesive manufacturer’s instructions. All instructions must be followed exactly, including the mixing ratios, the ambient and surface temperatures, the open and closed assembly times, the gap-filling ability, or glue line thickness, the spread of the adhesive, whether one or two surfaces, and the amount of clamping pressure and time required for full cure of the adhesive.AC 43.13-1 provides information on the criteria for identifying adhesives that are acceptable to the FAA. It stipulates the following:
- Refer to the aircraft maintenance or repair manual for specific instructions on acceptable adhesive selection for use on that type aircraft.
- Adhesives meeting the requirements of a MIL-SPEC, Aerospace Material Specification (AMS), or Technical Standard Order (TSO) for wooden aircraft structures are satisfactory, provided they are found to be compatible with existing structural materials in the aircraft and fabrication methods to be used in the repair.
New adhesives have been developed in recent years, and some of the older ones are still in use. Some of the more common adhesives that have been used in aircraft construction and repair include casein glue, plastic resin glue, resorcinol glue, and epoxy adhesives.
Casein glue should be considered obsolete for all aircraft repairs. The adhesive deteriorates when exposed to moisture and temperature variations that are part of the normal operating environment of any aircraft.
NOTE: Some modern adhesives are incompatible with casein adhesive. If a joint that has previously been bonded with casein is to be reglued using another type adhesive, all traces of the casein must be scraped off before a new adhesive is applied. If any casein adhesive is left, residual alkalinity may cause the new adhesive to fail to cure properly.
Plastic resin glue, also known as a urea-formaldehyde adhesive, came on the market in the middle to late 1930s. Tests and practical applications have shown that exposure to moist conditions, and particularly to a warm humid environment, under swell-shrink stress, leads to deterioration and eventual failure of the bond. For these reasons, plastic resin glue should be considered obsolete for all aircraft repairs. Discuss any proposed use of this type adhesive on aircraft with FAA engineering prior to use.
Resorcinol glue, or resorcinol-formaldehyde glue, is a two-component synthetic adhesive consisting of resin and a catalyst. It was first introduced in 1943 and almost immediately found wide application in the wood boat-building and wood aircraft industry in which the combination of high durability and moderate-temperature curing was extremely important. It has better wet-weather and ultraviolet (UV) resistance than other adhesives. This glue meets all strength and durability requirements if the fit of the joint and proper clamping pressure results in a very thin and uniform bond line.
The manufacturer’s product data sheets must be followed regarding mixing, usable temperature range, and the open and close assembly times. It is very important that this type of glue is used at the recommended temperatures because the full strength of the joint cannot be relied on if assembly and curing temperatures are below 70 °F. With that in mind, higher temperatures shorten the working life because of a faster cure rate, and open and closed assembly times must be shortened.
Epoxy adhesive is a two-part synthetic resin product that depends less on joint quality and clamping pressure. However, many epoxies have not exhibited joint durability in the presence of moisture and elevated temperatures and are not recommended for structural aircraft bonding unless they meet the acceptable standards set forth by the FAA in AC 43.13-1, as referenced earlier in Wood Aircraft Construction and Repairs post.
Definition of Terms Used in the Glue Process
- Close contact adhesive—a non-gap-filling adhesive (e.g., resorcinol-formaldehyde glue) suitable for use only in those joints where the surfaces to be joined can be brought into close contact by means of adequate pressure, to allow a glue line of no more than 0.005-inch gap.
- Gap-filling adhesive—an adhesive suitable for use in those joints in which the surfaces to be joined may not be close or in continuous contact (e.g., epoxy adhesives) due either to the impracticability of applying adequate pressure or to the slight inaccuracies of fabricating the joint.
- Glue line—resultant layer of adhesive joining any two adjacent wood layers in the assembly.
- Single spread—spread of adhesive to one surface only.
- Double spread—spread of adhesive to both surfaces and equally divided between the two surfaces to be joined.
- Open assembly time—period of time between the application of the adhesive and the assembly of the joint components.
- Closed assembly time—time elapsing between the assembly of the joints and the application of pressure.
- Pressing or clamping time—time during which the components are pressed tightly together under recommended pressure until the adhesive cures (may vary from 10 to 150 pounds per square inch (psi) for softwoods, depending on the viscosity of the glue).
- Caul—a clamping device, usually two rigid wooden bars, to keep an assembly of flat panel boards aligned during glue-up. It is assembled with long bolts and placed on either side of the boards, one on top and another below, and parallel with the pipe/bar clamps. A caul is usually finished and waxed before each use to keep glue from adhering to it.
- Adhesive pot life—time elapsed from the mixing of the adhesive components until the mixture must be discarded, because it no longer performs to its specifications. The manufacturer’s product data sheet may define this as working time or useful life; once expired, the adhesive must not be used. It lists the specific temperature and quantity at which the sample amount can be worked. Pot life is a product of time and temperature. The cooler the mix is kept, within the recommended temperature range, the longer it is usable.
RELATED POSTS
- History of Wooden Aircraft
- Wood Aircraft Construction and Repairs
- Preparation of Wood for Gluing (Repair of Wood Aircraft Structures - Part 2)
- Repair of Wood Aircraft Components (Repair of Wood Aircraft Structures - Part 3)
- Plywood Skin Repairs (Repair of Wood Aircraft Structures - Part 4)