Doesn anodizing the wing spars make them weaker?
for that discussion. The above is only a quick summary of these processes. More information is available in the RV-List Archives. What is alclad? 2024- aluminum, which makes up 95% of the parts in an RV, is actually an aluminum-coppper alloy (with a small percentage of other metals). This alloy has been determined to be have the best combination of properties (malleability, strength, etc.) for this type of aircraft construction. But everything is a compromise, and the alloy is somewhat less resistant to corrosion than pure aluminum. To compensate for this, a very thin layer of pure aluminum is applied to the surface of 2024 to protect against corrosion. This layer is known as “alclad”, and if care is taken to not scratch this surface, an airplane will hold up against corrosion quite well without any additional corrosion protection. Even so, most RV builders choose to do some sort of supplemental corrosion-proofing to their interior surfaces, “just because”. There are some non-alclad pa
