ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

I am looking for advice about the vmax 1550. I am unable to find clear Northern white pine in my area. I do have a good selection of clear vertical grain Douglas fir. Has anyone built this aircraft using all Douglas fir and if so how much more did it weight over Pine? Thanks

I can not comment on the Fir but just wanted to say welcome. The ETLB could use all the members we can get these days.
Have you discovered the search section? I do know its been discussed in the past and I'd bet you can find info in there. One thing that has bit me when using the search... be sure to change the default "90 days and newer" to something more useful.
If Fir is all you can get I'd say go for it. Do you not want to order spruce via https://www.aircraftspruce.com/
The spruce is only a small percentage of the total price to build in the end.

I don't think there is 2 ft3 of dimensional lumber in the basic Minimax airframe.  And if doug fir is 32 lbs/ft3 while northern white pine is 27 lbs/ft3 then the weight gain is less than 10 lbs.

Thanks for the advice It doesn’t sound like the weight penalty would  be to bad.
Aircraft spruce is a great resource but was trying to avoid the shipping cost on the long spar material. I will check the archives for more info. Thanks again all for the help.

Lowe’s used to carry hemlock boards 12 ft long and size 6x1 (  milled / finished section would measure 5.5 in x .75 in ). Perfect for spar caps. Not sure if they still carry it. Hemlock falls midway between fir and spruce in weight and strength.

That sounds like a good option thanks Keith