Tom,
Ah, interesting idea, but I don't think a row of fasteners on the the trailing edge will do it. The load on that part of the wing is very high. If the wing loading is maybe 20 pounds per sq. ft and the area is, say, between 5 and 10 sq. ft you could have 200 pounds of upward load on that skin, concentrated toward the leading edge. Add 4 G's of load factor and the total force trying to separate that skin from the wing could get as high as 800 pounds. Then take into account the fact that the wing root area accounts for more of the lift than the tips and the load trying to pull that skin off could be as high as 1,000 pounds, a nice round number. I would be tempted to start with #8 screws wherever the skin was intended to be
bonded every 2 to 3 inches toward the leading edge, gradually changing to a screw every 6 inches at the trailing edge. Lots of structural screws might, but might not, replace the strength and rigidity imparted to the structure by the wing skin. And the trailing edge "flap gap filler" from the lower skin was not intended to be structural, although in carbon fiber it is probably pretty strong. And then there is the question of the hinge line disrupting laminar flow at the leading edge. If you were going to build a small, race-track-shaped, screwed-on access panel that would only open the areas not accessible from underneath, that would be a different matter.
Gary
While working on my Legacy
kit it occurred to me that once it's flying inspection
and maintenance of the main gear would be so much easier if the stub wing skin
could be removed. I attached a hinge to the leading edge so that the skin could be
opened as shown in the picture. Now I'm trying to decide what sort of fasteners
I should use on the trailing edge. Any suggestions?
Tom Gourley