On Apr 9, 2:14*am, Markus Graeber wrote:

Thanks Bob, I was actually thinking about the possibility
of installing the antenna in the rudder since it has fabric
cover...

As others have said, that probably will not work very well. The metal
frame of the rudder will interfere with the antenna's radiation
pattern, and it will probably have an unacceptably high SWR (standing
wave ratio).

The other more extreme option could be to replace the
vertical stabilizer leading edge aluminum panels with fiber
glass but that might have some structural side effects
and I am not sure how much aluminum ribbing will affect
an 1/4 wave antenna install.

I think that will not work very well either. It would require a non-
trivial structural analysis to make sure that there is adequate
torsional and bending stiffness in the absence of the metal skin of
the modified areas.

I suppose that you could develop a composite (fiberglass or aramid,
but not carbon) rudder for the Lark and put the antenna inside of
that. But in the overall scheme of things, the effort is great and the
payoff is rather modest. You are probably a lot better off just
installing the bent 1/4-wave whip antenna and investing your time and
money on more productive endeavors.

Thanks, Bob K.



Certification wise it's not a problem since gliders are treated here similar to experimentals in the US...

Markus