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Hoffman Flying Wing
Raoul J. Hoffman was a Hungary-born hebrew engineer who moved to the United States of America and is notable for the aircraft he designed or helped to design. Aircraft design Hoffman helped develop the Laird Super Solution racer, and Owl Trimototor. Later he worked for C.L. Snyder's company Arup Manufacturing Corporation, developing a series of tailless aircraft known as the Arup S-1, and S-2. When diagnosed with tuberculosis, Hoffman moved to St. Petersburg, Florida and developed his own version for a customer in Chicago, Illinois. After poor performance, and arson destroying the Arup S-3 follow-on, Hoffman returned to Arup to develop the Arup S-4. Hoffman's aircraft The aircraft which Hoffman designed during his absence from Arup was of similar tailless semi-circular "heel wing" configuration to the Arup designs. It is sometimes mistakenly described as a flying wing, but in fact it has a pronounced fuselage nacelle protruding above and forward of the wing. Design and develop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Aircraft
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within Wikimedia project, sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by ''Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organization ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leading Edge
The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Characteristics Sweep Seen in plan the leading edge may be straight, curved, kinked or a combination of these. A straight leading edge may be swept or unswept, while curves or kinks always mean that part of the leading edge is swept. On a swept wing the sweep angle may differ from that of the wing, as wing sweep is conventionally measured at the airfoil 25% chord line. However on a delta wing the leading edge sweep defines the wing sweep. Radius and stagnation point A rounded leading edge helps to maintain a smooth airflow at varying angles of incidence to the airflow. Most subsonic airfoils therefore have a rounded leading edge. The degree of rounding is characterised by the profile radius at that point. The airflow divides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mid-wing Aircraft
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing configuration and is the simplest to build. However, during the early years of flight, these advantages were offset by its greater weight and lower manoeuvrability, making it relatively rare until the 1930s. Since then, the monoplane has been the most common form for a fixed-wing aircraft. Characteristics Support and weight The inherent efficiency of the monoplane is best achieved in the cantilever wing, which carries all structural forces internally. However, to fly at practical speeds the wing must be made thin, which requires a heavy structure to make it strong and stiff enough. External bracing can be used to improve structural efficiency, reducing weight and cost. For a wing of a given size, the weight reduction allows it to fly slower a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tailless Aircraft
In aeronautics, a tailless aircraft is an aircraft with no other horizontal aerodynamic surface besides its main wing. It may still have a fuselage, vertical tail fin (vertical stabilizer), and/or vertical rudder. Theoretical advantages of the tailless configuration include low parasitic drag as on the Horten H.IV soaring glider and good stealth characteristics as on the Northrop B-2 Spirit bomber. Disadvantages include a potential sensitivity to trim. Tailless aircraft have been flown since the pioneer days; the first stable aeroplane to fly was the tailless Dunne D.5, in 1910. The most successful tailless configuration has been the tailless delta, especially for combat aircraft, though the most familiar tailless delta is the Concorde airliner. NASA has used the 'tailless' description for the novel X-36 research aircraft which has a canard foreplane but no vertical fin. Aircraft configuration A tailless aircraft has no other horizontal surface besides its main wing. The ae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stout Batwing
The Stout Batwing was an experimental low aspect ratio flying wing aircraft developed by William Bushnell Stout. The aircraft used wood veneer construction and was an early example of cantilever wing design. The internally braced wing was also one of the first American aircraft designed without drag-producing struts. Development During World War I, William Bushnell Stout was employed by Packard in 1917 when he was appointed as a technical advisor to the War production board who in turn gave Stout a contract to develop an aircraft. Funded by the Motor Products Corporation, Stout developed the "Batwing" aircraft hoping to sell the aircraft to the United States Army Air Service. Stout first experimented with an all-wood flying wing glider, the "Batwing Glider", tested at Ford Airport in 1926. Stout's design was nicknamed "Bushnell's Turtle" (a reference to the unrelated David Bushnell's ''American Turtle'' shape). Design The Batwing was designed with an unusually broad chord, thic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ADC Cirrus
The ADC Cirrus is a series of British aero engines manufactured using surplus Renault parts by the Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC) in the 1920s. The engines were air-cooled, four-cylinder inline types. They were widely used for private and light aircraft. Design and development The Cirrus engine originated in Geoffrey de Havilland's 1924 quest for a powerplant suited to a light two-seat sports biplane which would become the de Havilland Moth. No suitable engine existed at the time, with both an appropriate level of power and light weight. The Aircraft Disposal Company, also known as Airdisco and ADC, were producing the low-cost Airdisco V8 which had been developed by Frank Halford from their large stocks of war surplus Renault V8 aero engines. De Havilland realised that half of this engine would make an air-cooled four-cylinder inline engine of just the right size and at low cost. He persuaded Halford to undertake its design and development. The cylinders, pistons, con-rods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft Fabric Covering
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are the pioneering all-wood monocoque fuselages of certain World War I German aircraft like the LFG Roland C.II in its wrapped ''Wickelrumpf'' plywood strip and fabric covering. Early aircraft used organic materials such as cotton and cellulose nitrate dope; modern fabric-covered designs usually use synthetic materials such as Dacron and butyrate dope for adhesive. Modern methods are often used in the restoration of older types that were originally covered using traditional methods. Purpose/requirements The purposes of the fabric covering of an aircraft are: * To provide a light airproof skin for lifting and control surfaces. * To provide structural strength to otherwise weak structures. * To cover other non-lifting parts of an aircraf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Piceoideae. Spruces are large trees, from about 20 to 60 m (about 60–200 ft) tall when mature, and have whorled branches and conical form. They can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needles (leaves), which are four-sided and attached singly to small persistent peg-like structures ( pulvini or sterigmata) on the branches, and by their cones (without any protruding bracts), which hang downwards after they are pollinated. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pegs. In other similar genera, the branches are fairly smooth. Spruce are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) species, such as the eastern spruce bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retractable Landing Gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin Company. For aircraft, Stinton makes the terminology distinction ''undercarriage (British) = landing gear (US)''. For aircraft, the landing gear supports the craft when it is not flying, allowing it to take off, land, and taxi without damage. Wheeled landing gear is the most common, with skis or floats needed to operate from snow/ice/water and skids for vertical operation on land. Faster aircraft have retractable undercarriages, which fold away during flight to reduce drag. Some unusual landing gear have been evaluated experimentally. These include: no landing gear (to save weight), made possible by operating from a catapult cradle and flexible landing deck: air cushion (to enable operation over a wide range of ground obstacles and wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taildragger
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 133. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. From the Ground Up, 27th edition, page 11 The term taildragger is also used, although some argue it should apply only to those aircraft with a tailskid rather than a wheel. The term "conventional" persists for historical reasons, but all modern jet aircraft and most modern propeller aircraft use tricycle gear. History In early aircraft, a tailskid made of metal or wood was used to support the tail on the ground. In most modern aircraft with conventional landing gear, a small articulated wheel assembly is attached to the rearmost part of the airframe in place of the skid. This wheel may be steered by the pilot through a connection to the rudder pedals, allowing the rudder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage, which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position the control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability. Types of structures Truss structure This type of structure is still in use in many lightweight aircraft using welded steel tube trusses. A box truss fuselage structure can also be built out of wood—often covered with plywood. Simple box structures may be rounded by the addition of supported lightweight stringers, allowing the fabric covering to form a more aerodynamic shape, or one more pleasing to the eye. Geodesic construction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
