The Antoinette IV was an early French monoplane .
27-425: The Antoinette IV was a high-wing aircraft with a fuselage of extremely narrow triangular cross-section and a cruciform tail. Power was provided by a V8 engine of Léon Levavasseur 's own design driving a paddle-bladed tractor propeller . Lateral control was at first effected with large triangular, and shortly afterwards trapezoidal-planform ailerons hinged to the trailing edge of the wings, although wing-warping
54-400: A Volkswagen engine conversion. Three months later it was shown at Oshkosh where Dick Rutan piloted it to an under 500 kg class distance record of 1,638 miles (2,636 km). Rutan believed that by engaging in a program of breaking class records he could further fine-tune the design. The aircraft was so popular at Oshkosh that Rutan redesigned the aircraft so that it could be sold as
81-573: A rigid fixture . These formers are then joined with lightweight longitudinal elements called stringers . These are in turn covered with a skin of sheet aluminum, attached by riveting or by bonding with special adhesives. The fixture is then disassembled and removed from the completed fuselage shell, which is then fitted out with wiring, controls, and interior equipment such as seats and luggage bins. Most modern large aircraft are built using this technique, but use several large sections constructed in this fashion which are then joined with fasteners to form
108-485: A design is intended to be "self jigging", not requiring a complete fixture for alignment. Early aircraft were constructed of wood frames covered in fabric. As monoplanes became popular, metal frames improved the strength, which eventually led to all-metal-structure aircraft, with metal covering for all its exterior surfaces - this was first pioneered in the second half of 1915 . Some modern aircraft are constructed with composite materials for major control surfaces, wings, or
135-402: A few builders discovered a potential for a novel lateral departure mode resulting from one winglet stalling at large sideslip angles . An outer wing leading edge droop (and later vortilons on some examples) was added to alleviate this problem and rudder travel was reduced. The design's stall resistance did not appear to translate to a lower accident rate than for other homebuilts; a review of
162-496: A nearly finished product) is prevalent in the series production of many modern sailplanes . The use of molded composites for fuselage structures is being extended to large passenger aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (using pressure-molding on female molds). This is the preferred method of constructing an all- aluminum fuselage. First, a series of formers in the shape of the fuselage cross sections are held in position on
189-447: A portion of the external load (i.e. from wings and empennage, and from discrete masses such as the engine) is taken by the surface covering. In addition, all the load from internal pressurization is carried (as skin tension ) by the external skin. The proportioning of loads between the components is a design choice dictated largely by the dimensions, strength, and elasticity of the components available for construction and whether or not
216-548: A scratch pane near the passenger. Acrylic is susceptible to crazing : a network of fine cracks appears but can be polished to restore optical transparency , removal and polishing typically undergo every 2–3 years for uncoated windows. " Flying wing " aircraft, such as the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing and the Northrop B-2 Spirit bomber have no separate fuselage; instead what would be
243-538: A set of plans. A second prototype, the Model 33, N4EZ, built using a larger wing, a Continental O-200 engine, and many other detail changes, was shown at Oshkosh in July 1976 and plans were offered for sale. Approximately 2000 aircraft were under construction by 1980, with about 300 flying by late 1980. Ultimately more VariEzes and Long-EZs (a derivative, slightly larger design) were constructed than any other homebuilt type of
270-445: Is composed of 4–6 panels, 35 kg (77 lb) each on an Airbus A320 . In its lifetime, an average aircraft goes through three or four windshields , and the market is shared evenly between OEM and higher margins aftermarket . Cabin windows, made from much lighter than glass stretched acrylic glass , consists of multiple panes: an outer one built to support four times the maximum cabin pressure, an inner one for redundancy and
297-464: The CAFE Challenge aircraft efficiency prize briefly was Gary Hertzler, set using a VariEze. The prototypes flew originally with elevons on the canard for both pitch and roll control but the design was changed to pitch control with the canard elevators and roll control with mid span wing ailerons after a few aircraft were built. While the airplane was resistant to pitch departures ,
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#1732779597997324-463: The Lockheed Vega ) was built using molded plywood , where the layers of plywood are formed over a "plug" or within a mold . A later form of this structure uses fiberglass cloth impregnated with polyester or epoxy resin as the skin, instead of plywood. A simple form of this used in some amateur-built aircraft uses rigid expanded foam plastic as the core, with a fiberglass covering, eliminating
351-626: The Long-EZ and other, larger cabin canard aircraft. The VariEze is notable for popularizing the canard configuration and moldless glass cloth composite construction for homebuilt aircraft. Work on the VariEze design, which grew out of Rutan's experience designing and building the VariViggen , began in 1974. The first prototype, designated Model 31 and registered N7EZ, first flew on May 21, 1975 after four months of construction. This aircraft used
378-765: The Antoinette IV, collided with British Army Captain Bertram Dickson by ramming his Farman III biplane in the rear. Both pilots survived, but Dickson was so badly injured that he never flew again. General characteristics Related lists List of aircraft (pre-1914) Fuselage The fuselage ( / ˈ f juː z əl ɑː ʒ / ; 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
405-508: The NTSB database from 1976 to 2005 shows 130 total accidents and 46 fatal accidents out of a fleet of about 800 (691 registered in 2005). Precise comparisons are difficult, however, because of the haphazard nature of data collection and analysis for accidents involving homebuilt airplanes. The VariEze is subject to a 2.5g positive, 1.5g negative, maximum load factor limit applied after the discovery of problems with some VariEze wings. In lieu of
432-410: The addition of supported lightweight stringers, allowing the fabric covering to form a more aerodynamic shape, or one more pleasing to the eye. Geodesic structural elements were used by Barnes Wallis for British Vickers between the wars and into World War II to form the whole of the fuselage, including its aerodynamic shape. In this type of construction multiple flat strip stringers are wound about
459-636: The complete fuselage. As the accuracy of the final product is determined largely by the costly fixture, this form is suitable for series production, where many identical aircraft are to be produced. Early examples of this type include the Douglas Aircraft DC-2 and DC-3 civil aircraft and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress . Most metal light aircraft are constructed using this process. Both monocoque and semi-monocoque are referred to as "stressed skin" structures as all or
486-641: The entire fuselage such as the Boeing 787. On the 787, it makes possible higher pressurization levels and larger windows for passenger comfort as well as lower weight to reduce operating costs. The Boeing 787 weighs 1,500 lb (680 kg) less than if it were an all-aluminum assembly. Cockpit windshields on the Airbus A320 must withstand bird strikes up to 350 kn (650 km/h) and are made of chemically strengthened glass . They are usually composed of three layers or plies, of glass or plastic :
513-522: The formers in opposite spiral directions, forming a basket-like appearance. This proved to be light, strong, and rigid and had the advantage of being made almost entirely of wood. A similar construction using aluminum alloy was used in the Vickers Warwick with less material than would be required for other structural types. The geodesic structure is also redundant and so can survive localized damage without catastrophic failure. A fabric covering over
540-497: The fuselage is a thickened portion of the wing structure. Conversely, there have been a small number of aircraft designs which have no separate wing, but use the fuselage to generate lift. Examples include National Aeronautics and Space Administration 's experimental lifting body designs and the Vought XF5U-1 Flying Flapjack . A blended wing body can be considered a mixture of the above. It carries
567-634: The inner two are 8 mm (0.3 in.) thick each and are structural, while the outer ply, about 3 mm thick, is a barrier against foreign object damage and abrasion , with often a hydrophobic coating. It must prevent fogging inside the cabin and de-ice from −50 °C (−58 °F). This was previously done with thin wires similar to a rear car window but is now accomplished with a transparent, nanometers-thick coating of indium tin oxide sitting between plies, electrically conductive and thus transmitting heat. Curved glass improves aerodynamics but sight criteria also needs larger panes. A cockpit windshield
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#1732779597997594-534: The necessity of fabricating molds, but requiring more effort in finishing (see the Rutan VariEze ). An example of a larger molded plywood aircraft is the de Havilland Mosquito fighter/light bomber of World War II . No plywood-skin fuselage is truly monocoque , since stiffening elements are incorporated into the structure to carry concentrated loads that would otherwise buckle the thin skin. The use of molded fiberglass using negative ("female") molds (which give
621-538: 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. 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
648-511: The structure completed the aerodynamic shell (see the Vickers Wellington for an example of a large warplane which uses this process). The logical evolution of this is the creation of fuselages using molded plywood, in which several sheets are laid with the grain in differing directions to give the monocoque type below. In this method, the exterior surface of the fuselage is also the primary structure. A typical early form of this (see
675-417: The time. The sale of plans ceased in 1985. Rutan's stated goals for the design included reduced susceptibility to departure /spin and efficient long range cruise; these goals were achieved. The use of a canard configuration allowed a stall-resistant design, at the price of somewhat increased takeoff and landing speeds and distances relative to a similar conventional design with effective flaps . The holder of
702-436: The useful load in a fuselage producing lift. A modern example is Boeing X-48 . One of the earliest aircraft using this design approach is Burnelli CBY-3 , which fuselage was airfoil shaped to produce lift. Rutan VariEze The Rutan VariEze is a composite , canard aircraft designed by Burt Rutan . It is a high-performance homebuilt aircraft , hundreds of which have been constructed. The design later evolved into
729-497: Was substituted at an early stage in flight trials, and in this type proved more effective. On 19 February 1909, the Antoinette IV flew 5 km (3.1 mi) at Mourmelon-le-Grand , and on 19 July, Hubert Latham attempted to cross the English Channel in it, covering 11 km (6.8 mi) out of Sangatte before making a forced water landing due to engine failure. On 3 October 1910, Frenchman René Thomas , flying
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