on a real GA airplane the wings usually have a main spar and a rear spar where the flaps are. I can never find good pics of the 

wing interior without the skins....my question is..is the skin the only hard connection to the spars and ribs or are there additional

diagonal braces that go between the ribs ?? I know every wing is unique but general rules apply I think..

 it still seems amazing that a wing can handle the forces that they encounter...what do you know especially if you have been inside the wings on your own GA plane.....thanks

Not a structural or aeronautical engineer but based on what I've seen, the strength of the wing is more than the 2 spars. It is also all the ribs that run perpendicular to the spars. Check out this article about the RV-14 for some insight under the wing skin.

RV14A Wings (aerotoons.com)

PS It is the skin that stabilizes the position of the ribs relative to the spars. .

 

Edited July 5, 20232 yr by hs118

If you do the math given component strength analogy you can calculate the strength per foot or for our metric fans CM. 

I invite you to do so.

Spars and ribs provide a percentage of the total strength of the wing structure. The rest is provided by the connection of the skin which also provides the wing surface where lift is derived.