| Homebuilt aircrafts are built of a very wide variety of | | | | you choose to weld a frame. |
| materials, wood, steel, aluminum, composites and | | | | There are excellent classes and workshops available |
| fabric. Although most have a combination of these | | | | for all the building materials types. |
| materials involved in their construction, there are | | | | You can get lists of tools needed from the kit |
| basic configurations. All metal, all wood, composites | | | | manufacturers. |
| and tube and fabric also know as tube and rag. | | | | The majority of homebuilt aircraft are aluminum |
| What would you build your airplane out of? | | | | frame, with aluminum or cloth covering. Aluminum is a |
| The first thought for many is; I've worked with | | | | very easy materiel to work with being soft yet |
| wood before, building projects around the house, or I | | | | strong. |
| have welded steel and worked with metal around | | | | Tube and Rag |
| auto repair and restoration. This may lean you | | | | Many unfamiliar with aircraft construction are |
| towards wood construction or metal, but think of it | | | | surprised when told the covering material is fabric. |
| this way. You are going to have a learning curve with | | | | Fabric is widely used and is a very durable solution for |
| any construction type if you have never built aircraft | | | | covering aircraft frames. It is extremely light weight, |
| before, so be open minded to other materials. All | | | | low cost and easy and quick to work with. After the |
| types can be learned by the average person and do | | | | frame is ready an adhesive is applied and the fabric is |
| not take many special tools, mostly tools you may | | | | tacked on. When a section has been completed, an |
| already have, if you like to build and repair things. | | | | iron is used to shrink the fabric taught and the fabric |
| If you are a wood building guru and your dream is | | | | becomes smooth and tight. Then structural adhesives |
| building a wood airplane by all means go for it, but | | | | are used to convert the porous fabric to a solid. |
| working with new materials might be new and | | | | After finishing tapping, priming and painting, the fabric |
| interesting to learn along with all the other new things | | | | looks great and will last for years. Many aerobatic |
| you will tackle in building an aircraft. | | | | aircraft use fabric covering and the material holds up |
| Most modern aircraft kits do the most difficult | | | | to these high stresses fine. |
| fabrication for you. You can farm out Items that you | | | | So there you have it. If you ever walk up to a small |
| feel your skill level is not up to the task or to save | | | | aircraft and push on the skin of the plane, you won't |
| time. Here are some things to consider. Wood takes | | | | be surprised if it feels like canvas. What would you |
| many more steps to work it than steel or aluminum | | | | build your homebuilt aircraft out of? |
| and you can easily learn to weld on scrap pieces if | | | | |