Brief Description: Bend Line Calculator addition ready for testing
My goal was to create a reliable bend line calculator spreadsheet for three or more bends. The first version stopped at two bends (two flanges and a web between). With parts like the flap and aileron skins, the scratch builder must place multiple bend lines that will aggregate to create the correct distances on all dimensions...sometimes with bends going in opposite directions. With the last two projects (flap and aileron skins), I have been able to test my new spreadsheet, and it works better than I thought. The example is on the aileron skins (hinged version). The ZAC plans call for a developed length of 755, but my new spreadsheet told me it should be 737.41...over 17mm of difference. When I bent my test strip, I cut it to the ZAC-suggested length of 755. After the bend, I checked all dimensions and they were correct. The only thing that was wrong with the last flange. It was long by 17mm. Now that I have demonstrated its accuracy to my satisfaction, I plan to ask Dave Clay and Mark at www.ch601.org to post my newest version and hope that folks who try it will let me know if they have problems.
