Re: REFLECTOR: Fuel Strakes

[Alan Shaw <wingco@iu.net>]

lawrence epstein wrote:

> What about cutting out large holes in the baffles before closing the
> strakes. If you needed to change the reticulated foam in 15 or so years, all
> you would need to do is cut 1 access hole via the inboard fuel BH and then
> have easy access to the rest of the tank.

Yes, that would work but one of my main reasons for using the foam would be to
eliminate all the work of putting in all those ribs by making the strake core
thicker.

Holes 1/2 the height of the rib weaken it very little,but if you needed to make
the hole 3/4th the height for access then that rib needs little doublers around
the hole.  If the edge of the holes were rounded a little you might could get
one layer of tape glass to wrap around inside the holes out on to the rib on
either side with some fine peel ply or Saran wrap.  That would make ribs with
holes very strong.

Alan