aircraft aluminum tubing bend radius chart

It is good for about twice the working pressure of 3003 tubing. The main advantage of 5052 tubing, besides its straightness, is its greater strength. It is best to also use a bender for 3003, but adjustments can often be bent by hand if you don’t need to bend it too much. It is not so hard to bend as to be a problem in most cases, but it will always require the use of a tubing bender.

Stronger 5052 tubing comes in straight sticks, so straightening it is not an issue, but it is more difficult to bend. On the other hand, 3003 tubing is easier to bend.

Tubing straighteners are available to purchase or you can make your own, but that just becomes one more task or expense to absorb into your project budget and schedule. Depending on how picky you are, this is a minor task or a real nuisance.

Another disadvantage of 3003 tubing is that it comes in rolls and must be straightened. It is not recommended for hydraulic systems due to its fairly low strength and working pressure. It can also be used for vacuum lines, but this is obviously not popular these days since almost no one is building a new plane with a vacuum system. Versatube (3003) is less expensive and will work for fuel and vent lines in most applications. There are two types of aluminum tubing available for our use: the more flexible 3003-0 (what Aircraft Spruce calls Versatube) and the stronger 5052-0 alloy. It is very important to check for cracks in the newly made flare. The AN819 sleeve and AN818 nut are installed and ready to use. Tony also mentions the 1T guideline in an article in the January '72 issue of Sport Aviation.Here is a well-made flare in 3/8-inch 5052 tubing. On page 44 of 'Sportplane Construction Techniques' Bingelis shows the 1T as part of a table, and says the values were '.derived from reliable USAF and FAA references.' Wonder our tool and die maker learned his trade at the same time as Tony. Might be that any slight cracking gets taken care of during this process.īeen discussing this on FB^2 (Fly Baby Facebook page), and while most folks posted about the online references saying 3T, 1T was echoed by a tool and die maker. On the Fly Baby, after making the bend, a piece of steel tubing is welded on the outside corner. but going against Tony Bingelis' recommendation is dangerously close to tugging on Superman's cape or spitting into the wind. I can find all sort of online data to justify the 3T bend radius. Not all pieces are under the same sorts of stresses, and that, more than anything, matters the most, IMHO.Yeah, it's funny. I tend to squint an eye on one-size-fits-all guidance, as it really matters on application. Well, Ron, since I've never heard of a Fly Baby having gear problems, I reckon Tony is onto something.

Aircraft aluminum tubing bend radius chart