Big wings

[RizzoTheRat]

How do people get multi section wings to link together properly?

I've been playing with a fairly large aircraft, using 4m wing sections I think from B9 Aerospace, but I have the same issue when using stock wings.

Looks fine in the hanger

But because they can't attach to more than one part as soon as you get some load on it...

I've tried struts but it's a bit hit and miss trying to link two flat parts.  I don't really want to have to install the welding mod and build up big wing sections as extra parts.  Is there a trick I'm missing?

[Confused Scientist]

If autostrut is set to "root part" or "heaviest part" in the right-click menu that should keep your wings in their proper place.

[Gaarst]

Instead of building your wings like this:

(            plane              )  ----> flies that way
      |           |            |
      |           |            |
      |           |           

(wing segments are all attached parallel and only connected to the fuselage)

 

Build them like this:

(            plane              )  ----> flies that way
     _______|_______
     _______|____
     _______|

(single segment connected to the fuselage as long as the wing span, and other segments connected to it)

 

Because there is more stress along the span than the chord the second design will bend more under load but will keep together better than the first design as long as the load is attached to the "main segment". This works very well for high aspect ratios; for low aspect ratio wings, you might need some autostrut at the very front of the wing to avoid having its angle of incidence going all over the place (a "grandparent part" autostrut on a single segment at the front of the wing or a single physical strut from there to the fuselage will usually be enough, especially if your wing is built of few large segments).

You may also use some autostrut on the segment to which your ailerons are attached to make roll a bit more stable if needed.

The second design also had the advantage of being rooted to a single part, making it much easier to adjust your wing's position, di-/anhedral angle, angle of incidence, sweep...

Edited February 20, 2018 by Gaarst

[bewing]

And sometimes using rigid attachment can help. Just so long as the stresses are not too high.

[Guest]

I use a combination of Gaarst's and Confused Scientist's solutions. I always autostrut each wing segment to grandparent part, it stiffens them no end. Have built quite big wings this way with no problems.

[RizzoTheRat]

I've played this game on and off for over 5 years and never knew auto strutting existed   then again I've never built an aircraft this big before either.

I'll rebuild the wing on the tree structure and autostrut it, thanks.

 

Edited February 20, 2018 by RizzoTheRat

[RizzoTheRat]

Thanks for the advice, made a huge difference, both of these now fly with no wing issues.

Although I'm still wondering about installing the Weld mod just to bring the part count down, the wing alone is 28 parts on the bottom one.  Is there a decent procedural wings mod out there?  The B9 one seems to have died in 2015.

 

[boccelounge]

On 2/21/2018 at 7:30 AM, RizzoTheRat said:

Although I'm still wondering about installing the Weld mod just to bring the part count down, the wing alone is 28 parts on the bottom one.  Is there a decent procedural wings mod out there?

I use Ubio Welding extensively, both for aesthetic and part count reasons, but it's my understanding that it shouldn't be used for wings-- or really any part designed to generate lift.  See that thread for more details.

The "Mk3 Expansion" mod has a nice collection of stockalike wings and control surfaces, all done in the style of the stock Big-S parts.  HTH.