Wood and timber ; somebody once told me that if Wood was discovered today it would mean a revolution in terms of use of materials.

The funny thing is that wood is afterall a Carbon laminate with a high resistance to fatigue processes. The tree needs to survive several 100 years bobbing and weaving at different frequencies and amplitudes all the time depending on the winds of the moment. And it needs to be strong to resist the huge loads on its base when a summer storm hits it cannopy filled with leaves.

I addition to the numbers provided about the F18's I can give you numbers on un glassed timber hulls (Ply epoxy). Of course the Blade F18 has a layer of glass on the inside and outside. A timber Taipan platform (no glassing except on the seems) flexes by about 63 mm. Still seriously close to the 92 Marstrom Tornado and superior to the F18's.

Actually the design of the beam landings is very important in the overall stiffness and the Blade F18 has some really good beams and beamlandings. My own Taipan F16 would also be noticeably helped by having a beam setup like that. A number of 45 mm should certainly be attainable, we know that from other tests.

Wouter