Hatz Biplane Association

Who has used steel cable in place of the flying wire. What size was used and how did it work out?

My plane (I didn't build it myself) has cables. Not sure of the sizes, have to check. I'm sure they cost some speed but I don't know how much... I cruise 70 knots at 2200 rpm with a 125HP O-290.

The cables work fine, they just slow you down a lot. When I flew with and talked to the previous owner (not original builder) of Dana's Hatz, he speculated that the wires cost him around 10 mph. He's probably right. A round cross section generates 9x more drag than a streamlined cross section of the same thickness. Given that fact AND that the thickness of a flying wire is substantially less than that of the cable, I'll wager that the cables generate quite a bit more than the 9x additional drag vs. a flying wire.

If you can afford flying wires I'd definitely go for it.

Dana wrote:My plane (I didn't build it myself) has cables. Not sure of the sizes, have to check. I'm sure they cost some speed but I don't know how much... I cruise 70 knots at 2200 rpm with a 125HP O-290.

It would b great if you could check the sizes and let me know,

On my plane, the front flying wires and the center section wires are 1/4". The rear flying wires and the landing wires are 3/16", and the tail wires are 5/32". Not saying that's adequate, I haven't done any analysis, but apparently the wings haven't fallen off yet in thirty years of flying... Turnbuckles on all wires, they're pretty pricey nowadays too, though not as bad as streamline wires.

Gus Mihlebach, the original builder, is an engineer, and it shows. The cables are nicopress swaged, then wrapped with wire and soft soldered, just like the woven splices used to be.

Dana, great to see you enjoying that Hatz! I miss seeing it around, but happy to know it's in good hands and getting flown regularly.

I'll have to come visit one of these days...