Manufacturing of the fuselage
for the ornithopter model EV8

Constructing male mould of the fuselage

For a precise mechanism- and wing conection the position and direction of the main frames and the wing stroke axis needs to be determined right from the beginning.

To the right and left side of the shoulder component the turned halves of the profile spindle for the wing root transition are adjusted.

Finished male mould of the fuselage

with female moulds of the fuselage cover.

As a tail boom a conical tube will later be inserted in the rear of the finished fuselage.

Female mould of the fuselage

The female mould and the fuselage are manufactured in the usual glass fibre (GRP) construction.

Reinforcement of the fuselage

Without the wing adapter rollers the deep cut in the fuselage contour is good to be seen in the side view of the fuselage.

For reinforcing this part a strong carbon fibre tube together with the main frames will be inserted into the left and right side of the fuselage.

At back and front these tubes taper off very slenderly at the sides of the fuselage. Hence the fuselage gets very warp resistant.

Here the centre piece is ready to hold the chassis with the driving mechanism.

Finished fuselage

length
maximum diameter
weight (without mobile equip.)

1,47 m
125 mm
600 g

[58 in]
[4.9 in]
[21 oz]

Wing adapter rollers

The manufacturing begins with the end plates of plywood and the layering of the rigid foam sections according to the later gaps. For their accurate alignment rectangle profiles are used.

Complete rigid foam blanks

Dressed rigid foam rollers

Finished wing adapter rollers

The rigid foam is layered with about 0.5 mm of glass fibre (GRP). Thereby the edges of the openings are additionally reinforced a little.
The finished weight of a roller with the shown installations is approx. 100 g [3.5 oz].