I'm very new to all this; isn't the spar on a Wittman Tailwind or
Buttercup a solid piece of spruce with dimensions being something like
2 inches wide x 5 inches thick x 5 feet long. The Tailwind spar kit on
the Aircraft Spruce Inc. web site doesn't list any piece of wood this
big...see the link to the spar kit for the Wittman Tailwind.....

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/builde...hp?PN=02-08500


I owned a Neismith Cougar project once, so I know that the ribs were
attached to something like a "main beam," the spar. Also the Buttercup
materials list on Earl Luce's web site also does not list any piece of
lumber that to me would be the spar, the big long "beam" that gives the
wing its support.

As a potential builder, I really like the performance, appearance and
materials to build airplanes like the Tailwind or Buttercup. It seems
though that these older "rag and tube" types require more expertise and
skills than something like the newer composite types like the Cozy or
Long-EZ. Building a Cozy isn't easy but the skills necessary are less
complicated. It seems to me that building the older "rag and tube"
types is a real craft, requiring more skills and not as simple as
building a composite airplane. The Tailwind type aircraft require the
builder to know about wood, fabric, and welding while the composite
airplane uses the same technique throughout, that being the covering of
foam with fiberglass and lots of filling and sanding, filling and
sanding. I don't intend to insult anyone here as I myself am thinking
maybe of building a composite airplane, but could you say that a
composite project is, in a way, "Aircraft Building for Dummies?" The
Cozy MK IV for example comes with a detailed construction manual while
the Wittman Tailwind plans for example do not.

I know EAA has a course on welding and fabric covering and the Tony
Bingelis books and internet are also helpful. I am just wondering how
difficult it would be for a new guy, willing to learn (but not crash)
to acquire the skills and missing information to build something like a
Buttercup or Tailwind.

Thanks,
Randy