Limb

Knot

Sapwood

Heartwood

Check
Shake

FIGURE 3-2 Nomenclature for woods.

Annual rings Concentric layers of wood that can be seen at

the end of a tree trunk that has been cut perpendicular to
its length. The rings are caused by the different rates of
growth during each year as the seasons change.
Bark The external covering of a tree trunk or branch.
Check A radial crack that cuts across the grain lines.
Compression failures Wrinkles or streaks across the grain
line caused by mechanical stress on the wood after the
annual rings had grown. For detection, compression failures may require close examination with a light source
aimed almost parallel to the grain structure.
Compression wood Deformed grain structure in the wood
caused by mechanical stress on the tree, such as supporting the weight of a heavy limb, during growth. It is
characterized by wide annual rings when compared to the
normal size of the trees growth rings.
Decay A biological growth living off of the wood and causing a breakdown in the strength of the wood. Discoloration
may also be present.
Grain The lines in wood caused by the annual rings. Grain
also refers to the direction of the wood fibers.
Hard knot A knot that is firmly embedded in the wood and
shows no sign of coming loose.
Heartwood The center part of a tree trunk, which is dead
and carries no sap. This part of the tree serves only to
support the tree.
Knot The base of a limb inside the tree. A knot will cause
a deviation of the grain lines as they form around the
knot.
Mineral streaks Coloring in the wood caused by minerals
in the soil or other naturally occurring agents during the
trees growth.
Moisture content The weight of water contained in a wood
sample compared to the weight of the wood sample if all
the water was removed from it.
Pin knot A knot resulting from the growth of a twig.
Pitch pocket Voids between the annual rings that contain
free resin. These pockets are usually relatively small in
cross section and are not to be confused with shakes,
which can be extensive.

Sapwood The part of a tree that is alive or partially alive

and carries sap. Sapwood begins immediately under the
bark and extends to the heartwood. The sapwood is often
lighter in color than the heartwood.
Shake A separation between the annual ring layers.
Spike knot A knot that was cut through parallel to the limb
during the sawing operation such that the knot runs across
the board.
Split A crack in the wood resulting from rough handling.
Springwood The soft, light-colored part of the annual ring.
This wood ring is normally wider than the summerwood
ring because of the rapid tree growth during the spring
season.
Summerwood The harder and usually darker part of each
annual ring. This wood is formed during the slow summer
season growth.

Evaluating Wood for Aircraft Use

The primary requirement for wood that is to be used in aircraft structures is that it be sufficiently sound and of such
quality that it will provide the strength required for the
structure. It has been determined through research that Sitka
spruce is generally the best wood for use in aircraft structures
because of its combination of lightness, strength, stiffness per
unit weight, and toughness when compared to other species.
Because of specific requirements, other species may be used
due to unique qualities within the general evaluation criteria.
The following paragraphs discuss the wood characteristics
that the technician must consider when selecting wood of the
desired species.
There are two classifications of water in wood, free water
and cell water, as shown in Fig. 3-3. Free water is the water
that flows up and down the tree carrying nutrients. Cell water
is water trapped within the walls of the wood cells structure
and is part of the structure of the tree. Aircraft woods are
kiln-dried to remove all the free water and a portion of the
cell water, so the resulting moisture content is between 8 and
12 percent. A moisture content above or below this range is
not considered acceptable.
Kiln-dried wood is dried by placing the boards of freshcut wood in a precisely controlled oven and raising the

FIGURE 3-3 A wood cell before (left) and after (right) drying.
When the cell water is removed, the wood shrinks and becomes
stronger.

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FIGURE 3-4 This illustration shows two methods of cutting a

log to obtain quarter-sawed wood.

When evaluating wood, the following defects are not

acceptable: checks, shakes, splits, decay, compression wood,
compression failure, and spike knots. Defects that might be
acceptable, depending on their size, location, and condition, are hard knots, pin knot clusters, mineral streaks, and
irregularities in grain direction. Evaluation criteria for these
defects are given in Table 3-1.
Specifications for aircraft woods as given in Federal
Aviation Advisory Circular (AC) 43.13-lB provide that
certain minor defects, such as small solid knots and wavy
grain, may be permitted if such defects do not cause any
appreciable weakening of the part in which they appear.
As a practical rule, aircraft technicians should not use
any wood about which they have doubts. The safe policy
is to use wood that is straight-grained, free from cracks,
knots, or any other possible defect, and guaranteed as
aircraft-quality.

Wood Substitutions
temperature to a specified level for a specified period of
time. Not only does this process reduce the moisture content
to the desired level, but it also kills the insects and decayproducing organisms that may have infected the wood.
The specific gravity of aircraft woods should be from
0.34 to 0.40, depending upon the type of wood. Aircraft
spruce should have a specific gravity of approximately 0.36.
The grain structure of the wood must be examined to
determine if the wood has been properly cut, if the grain
lines are sufficiently straight, and if there is a minimum
number of annual rings per inch.
The way a board is cut is important, because this affects
the strength of the piece of wood and the shrinkage characteristics of the wood. Ideally, aircraft solid wood should
be cut so that the annual rings are parallel to the narrow
dimension of the board. This is known as quarter-sawed, or
edge-sawed, wood and is illustrated in Fig. 3-4. For practical
purposes, a board is considered to be quarter-sawed if the
annual rings are at an angle no greater than 45 to the narrow
dimension.
The slope of a grain line is determined by looking at the
side of a board and noting the angle that the grain line makes
with the edge of the board. Ideally, the grain lines will be
parallel to the edge of the board, but a deviation or slope of
1:15 is allowed. This means that a grain line starting at the
edge of the board may not move more than 1 in [2.54 cm]
from the edge of the board when it is 15 in [38.1 cm] from
the starting point, as shown in Fig. 3-5.
The number of annual rings per inch, or grain count, is
another criterion that must be checked for aircraft-quality
wood. The grain count is taken by counting the number of
grain lines (annual rings) per inch on the sample. This is
best done by looking at the end of a board and measuring
a 1-in [2.54-cm] line perpendicular to the annual rings.
The minimum grain count for most softwoods is six rings
per inch [2.54 cm], with the exception of Port Orford white
cedar and Douglas fir, which must have a minimum of eight
rings per inch [2.54 cm].

When repairing or rebuilding wood components, species

substitution may be allowed if the structural strength of
the component is not reduced. Table 3-2 shows types
of wood that may be considered for substitution, with
spruce being the reference wood. Note that the choice of
a substitution may have to take into account changes in
size, different bonding qualities, and different working
qualities.

Plywood
Plywood is composed of an uneven number of layers (plies)
of wood veneer assembled with the grain of each layer at an
angle of 45 to 90 to the adjacent layers. The outside layers are called the faces, or the face and back, and the inner
layers are called the core and crossbands. The core is the

FIGURE 3-5 The maximum slope allowed in aircraft

wood is 1:15.
Aircraft Woods 71

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TABLE 3-1 Wood defects

Defect

Acceptability

Checks

Not acceptable.

Compression failure

Not acceptable.

Compression wood

Not acceptable.

Cross grain

Spiral grain, diagonal grain, or a combination of the two is acceptable providing the grain does not diverge
from the longitudinal axis of the material more than 1:15. A check of all four faces of the board is necessary to determine the amount of divergence. The direction of free-flowing ink will frequently assist in determining grain direction. If the deviation is greater than specified, the wood is not acceptable.

Curly grain

Acceptable if local irregularities do not exceed limitations specified for cross grain.

Decay

Not acceptable.

Hard knots

Sound hard knots up to 83 in [9.5 mm] in maximum diameter are acceptable providing: (1) they are not in
projecting portions of I-beams, along the edges of rectangular or beveled unrouted beams, or along the
edges of flanges of box-beams (except in lowly stressed portions); (2) they do not cause grain divergence at
the edges of the board or in the flanges of a beam more than 1:15; and (3) they are in the center third of
the beam and are no closer than 20 in [50.8 cm] to another knot or other defect (pertains to 83 -in [9.5 mm]
knotssmaller knots may be proportionally closer). Knots greater than 41 -in [5.7 mm] must be used with
caution.

Interlocking grain

Acceptable if local irregularities do not exceed limitations specified for cross grain.

Mineral streaks

Acceptable, providing careful inspection fails to reveal any decay. Not acceptable if accompanied by decay.

Pin knot clusters

Small clusters are acceptable, providing they produce only a small effect on grain direction. Not acceptable
if they produce a large effect on grain direction.

Pitch pockets

Acceptable in center portion of beam, providing they are at least 14 in [35.56 cm] apart when they lie in
the same growth ring and do not exceed 1 21 in [3.81 cm] in length by 81 in [3.18 mm] width by 81 in
[3.18 mm] in depth and providing they are not along the projecting portions of I-beams, along the edges
of rectangular or beveled unrouted beams, along the edges of the flanges of box-beams. Otherwise, not
acceptable.

Shakes

Not acceptable.

Spike knots

Not acceptable.

Splits

Not acceptable.

Wavy grain

Acceptable, if local irregularities do not exceed limitations specified for cross grain.

center ply, and the layers between the core and outer layers
are the crossbands.
The layers of plywood are bonded with special adhesive
of the synthetic resin type such as phenol formaldehyde
adhesive. Flat aircraft plywood is usually assembled with a
thermosetting (hardened by heat) adhesive in a large, heated
hydraulic press. It must be emphasized that aircraft plywood
is of much higher quality than commercial grades. Every
layer of wood in a sheet of aircraft plywood must be of
excellent quality to provide for uniform strength throughout.
Plywood has a number of advantages over solid wood in
that it is not likely to warp, it is highly resistant to cracking, and its strength is almost equal in any direction when
stresses are applied along the length or width of a panel. Its
change in dimension is negligible with changes in moisture
content.
The most commonly used types of plywood for aircraft
manufacture are mahogany and birch. The core and crossbands may be made of basswood or a similar wood that
provides adequate strength. Mahogany has a reddish-brown
appearance, whereas birch is of a light yellow or cream

color. Mahogany offers a better bonding surface than birch

because of its porosity.
When selecting or ordering plywood for aircraft use, the
technician should make sure that the wood is of aircraft quality. Some commercial plywoods appear to be as good as aircraft plywood; however, it will be found that the quality is
only on the surface and the strength does not compare with
the aircraft-quality product.

Laminated Wood
Laminated wood is several layers of solid wood bonded
together with an adhesive. Laminated wood differs from plywood in that each layer of wood has the grain running in the
same direction, whereas plywood has the grain direction of
each layer at a large angle to the previous layer. Laminated
wood tends to be more rigid than a piece of solid wood of the
same size and is much more resistant to warpage. Laminated
wood is used for components that require a curved shape,
such as wing-tip bows and fuselage formers, and is used in
place of solid wood, such as for solid-type wing spars.

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TABLE 3-2 Aircraft woods

Species of wood

Strength properties
as compared to spruce

Maximum permissible grain deviation

(slope of grain)

Remarks

Spruce (Picea)
Sitka (P. sitchensis),
Red (P. rubra),
White (P. glauca)

100%

1:15

Excellent for all uses. Considered as

standard for this table.

Douglas Fir
(Pseudotsuga taxifolia)

Exceeds spruce

1:15

Noble Fir
(Abies nobilis)

Slightly exceeds spruce

except 8% deficient in
shear

1:15

Western Hemlock
(Tsuga heterophylla)

Slightly exceeds spruce

1:15

Pine, Northern White

(Pinus strobus)

Properties between 85 and

96% those of spruce

1:15

White Cedar, Port Orford

(Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)

Exceeds spruce

1:15

Poplar, Yellow
(Liriodendron tulipifera)

Slightly less than spruce

except in compression
(crushing) and shear

1:15

May be used as substitute for spruce in

same sizes or in slightly reduced sizes
providing reductions are substantiated.
Difficult to work with hand tools. Some
tendency to split and splinter during
fabrication, and considerably more care in
manufacture is necessary. Large solid
pieces should be avoided due to
inspection difficulties. Bonding satisfactory.
Satisfactory characteristics with respect to
workability, warping, and splitting. May
be used as direct substitute for spruce in
same sizes providing shear does not
become critical. Hardness somewhat less
than spruce. Bonding satisfactory.
Less uniform in texture than spruce. May be
used as direct substitute for spruce. Upland
growth superior to lowland growth. Bonding
satisfactory.
Excellent working qualities and uniform in
properties but somewhat low in hardness and
shock-resisting capacity. Cannot be used as
substitute for spruce without increase in sizes to
compensate for lesser strength. Bonding satisfactory.
May be used as substitute for spruce in same
sizes or in slightly reduced sizes providing
reductions are substantiated. Easy to work with
hand tools. Bonding difficult, but satisfactory joints
can be obtained if suitable precautions are taken.
Excellent working qualities. Should not be used
as a direct substitute for spruce without carefully
accounting for slightly reduced strength
properties. Somewhat low in shock-resisting
capacity. Bonding satisfactory.

Adhesives and Bonding

Procedures
Adhesive are used almost exclusively for joining wood in
aircraft construction and repair. A part is regarded as satisfactorily bonded if the strength of the joint is equal to
the strength of the wood. In a strong joint, there is complete contact of adhesive and wood surfaces over the entire
area of the joint and a thin, continuous film of adhesive
between the wood layers unbroken by foreign particles or
air bubbles.
To accomplish satisfactory bonding in aircraft wood
structures, it is necessary that a number of exacting rules be
observed and that all materials be of the high quality specified for aircraft woodwork. If either the adhesive or the wood
is not of satisfactory quality or if the techniques employed

are not correct, the bonding operations will be inferior and

may result in failure.

Types of Adhesives
There are two broad categories of adhesive used in aircraft
wood structure, casein and synthetic resin. The synthetic
resin adhesives are commonly used in modern construction
and repair operations.
Casein adhesives are manufactured from milk products, are
highly water-resistant, and require the addition of sodium salts
and lime to prevent attack by microorganisms. Casein adhesive should not be used anymore due to inferior performance.
Synthetic adhesives should be the first option for bonding
wood structure.
Synthetic adhesives are of the urea formaldehyde, resorcinol formaldehyde, phenol formaldehyde, and epoxy types.
Depending on the formulation of the adhesive, it may be
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