Construction:Airframe

The Airframe Category consists of the components and sub-components outlined below. Each component is summarized with selected photos. More detailed construction photos and discussion are included on additional detailed pages (for selected items).

Airframe:
- Wing
- Fuselage
- Landing Gear
- Horizontal Stabilizer
- Vertical Stabilizer

Wing

Wing Structure: The wing structure is the inside skeleton, which gives the wing it's strength. The photo to the right, shows an open ES wing in the jig at Lancair's builder assist shop in Redmond, Or. Lancair's fast build kits, come with the wing Spars and Ribs pre-assembled as shown. Note: the wings rest upside down in the jig - so this is actually a photo looking into the bottom of the wing. The large long support member in the middle is called the "spar". It's made of Carbon Fiber for strength(under the white filler). The wing spar is used to bolt the wing to the fuselage (removable). The short supports from front to back are called "ribs".
Wing Internal: Fuel is stored in the wings (like most planes). The dark grey areas near the spar are the fuel tanks (fuel sealer). The fuel vents are in the wing tips (not shown). A 1/8" aluminum tube connects the vent to the tank. Electrical wires for the lights in the wing tips (not shown) and other electric items, run through a black plastic electrical conduit in the front of the wing (leading edge). The control rods for the ailerons (control surfaces on the wings), also run from the fuselage out through the wings (not shown). Added Fuel Enhancement: The standard ES design allocates the first five wing bays (areas between the ribs) for fuel. This equates to approximately 95 gals. As a factory option, a portion of the sixth bay can be used to enlarge the fuel tank for a total of ~110gals. I further extended the main wing fuel tanks to also include the seventh wing bay. This results in approx 125-130 Gals. I also created separate auxiliary fuel tanks in the first three bays behind the main wing spar (which are otherwise unused). The auxiliary tanks are ~20 Gals, for a grand total of nearly 150 Gal. Added Conduit Enhancement: I also added a second electrical conduit behind the wing spar (from the root ot the tip). This will be used for the speed brake wires and as additional root to tip wire capacity.
Wing Skin: The Lancair ES wing skins are pre-molded thin fiberglass with a Nomex honeycomb core. (The ES-P (pressurized) planes use carbon fiber skins). The photo to the right is an ES bottom skin. The dark grey areas are the fuel tank areas (fuel sealer). The "V" near the tip (at the bottom) is a Bob-Archer Navigational antenna which has been bonded in with fiberglass. After all the internal items are complete, the wing skins are permanently bonded to the wing structure with structural adhesive (Hysol) and epoxy flox (mix of epoxy and floxed cotton). Access panels are created for critical / maintenance items.
Wing Tip: The wing tips are separate pre-molded fiberglass pieces which are added later in the build process (after the wings are mounted and the ailerons are installed).

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Fuselage

Fuselage Bottom: The Lancair ES (and the IV) fuselage is constructed as a top and bottom shell, which are permanently bonded (closed) after all the internal components are installed. The bottom portion comes as a pre-molded shell with the the firewall and primary bulkheads pre-installed.
Wing Fairings: Fiberglass fairings are permanently bonded onto the fuselage bottom to reduce drag where the wings attach to the fuselage. To get a good fit, the wings are temporarily mounted to the fuselage. The fairing skins are pre-molded by Lancair but require additional hand made support structure and quite a bit of craftsmanship to get a good fit.
Step: The Lancair ES is designed with a fixed step behind the wing on the pilot side (both sides for the two door option). The plane sits pretty high (wing is over 3' above the ground), so either the step or a small "jump" is needed to get up on the wing to get in.
Fuselage Top: The fuselage top is permanently bonded to the bottom, after the all internal components are installed. The photo here is an inital test fit. Throughout construction, the top is re-fit several times to aid with installing other things such as the windows and door. Delaying the final boinding until last, makes building the plane easier as most of it is "wide open".
Windows: The windshield and side windows are bonded into the top fuselage skin (from the inside). The bolt and washers shown here are temporary while the adhesive is curing. If they ever need to be replaced, they are cut (ground) out and the new ones are bonded in again.
Door: The Lancair ES comes with one pilot side door. A co-pilot door is offered as an option but adds approx 100 lbs in additional weight. The door is initially bonded into the top portion of the fuselage by temporarily mating the top and bottom shells. When the top and bottom are finally closed, the door frame is then bonded to the bottom also.
Luggage Door Access to the luggage area is through the folding back seat and/or through the external luggage door. The photo here shows the rough opening for the luggage door. The luggage door can also serve as an emergency exit.

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Landing Gear

Main Gear: The Lancair ES has a fixed (non-retractable) landing gear. The main gear legs are tapered steel pipes which are bolted into steel receptacles inside the fuselage.
Main Gear Fairing: The main landing gear legs and tires are covered with removable fiberglass fairings to reduce aerodynamic drag. The primary fiberglass parts are pre-molded by Lancair, but require quite a bit of craftsmanship to get a good fit. The upper (fuselage) portion of the fairings are most easily done with the fuselage upside down (as shown here).
Nose Gear: The nose gear is attached to a castering (non-steerable) shock strut. The strut attaches to the engine mount. The ES nose gear is similar to the retractable IV gear, but the IV over-center retract link is replaced with a fixed drag link in the ES. Note: the casters in this construction photo are temporary as the real tire and yoke raise the plane another 12" - making it harder to work on while building.
Nose Gear Fairing: Similar to the main gear, the nose gear tire and strut are covered with a fairing to reduce aerodynamic drag.

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Horizontal Stabilizer

HS Structure: The Horizontal stabilizer is constructed similar to the wings, with a spar and ribs. The Horizontal stabilizer spar and ribs are pre-assembled by Lancair.
HS Skin: The HS is completed by bonding the skin onto the structure. Later in the construction process, the HS is permanently bonded onto the Fuselage bottom.

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Vertical Stabilizer

VS Structure: The vertical stabilizer is constructed similar to the wing, but is oriented vertically (on the tail). The internal structure (spar and ribs) are pre-installed into the right side skin by Lancair.
VS Air Inlet: The fresh air inlet is located on the right side of the vertical stabilizer (far from any exhaust fumes). It is later connected to the fresh air dusts in the cabin.
VS Skin: The vertical stabilizer is constructed differently that the wing and horizontal. First, the right half of the VS and the structure is permanently bonded to the fuselage. Then, the left side skin is bonded on to the right side, structure, and fuselage together.
VS Cuff: Lancair offers an optional leading edge cuff for the vertical stabilizer, which was initially designed to add more Yaw Stability to the turbine IV's. The popular opinion is that the cuff does little for yaw stability, but does add some stiffness to the tail section and "looks cool".
VS Strake: Several builders have experimented with adding ventral strakes to the bottom of the fuselage, below the vertical stabilizer. These do seem to increase yaw stability, but the added drag costs a few knows of airspeed.

Added Pics
Added Pics