39-521: The Arsenal VG 70 was a single-seat monoplane research aircraft flown in France shortly after World War II to assist in the development of high-speed jet fighters . Lacking an indigenous turbojet engine , the aircraft was fitted with a German Junkers Jumo 004 . Unlike most jet-powered aircraft of the period, the swept wing was wooden as was the tail structure . The under-powered VG 70 made its maiden flight in 1948, but only flew five times before
78-408: A biplane , a parasol wing has less bracing and lower drag. It remains a popular configuration for amphibians and small homebuilt and ultralight aircraft . Although the first successful aircraft were biplanes, the first attempts at heavier-than-air flying machines were monoplanes, and many pioneers continued to develop monoplane designs. For example, the first aeroplane to be put into production
117-482: A fixed-wing aircraft (including both gliders and powered aeroplanes ) is its arrangement of lifting and related surfaces. Aircraft designs are often classified by their wing configuration. For example, the Supermarine Spitfire is a conventional low wing cantilever monoplane of straight elliptical planform with moderate aspect ratio and slight dihedral. Many variations have been tried. Sometimes
156-474: A flat upper wing and dihedral on the lower wing, while the Hanriot HD-1 had dihedral on the upper wing but none on the lower. In a cranked or polyhedral wing the dihedral angle varies along the span. (Note that the description "cranked" varies in usage. See also Cranked arrow planform.) Some designs have no clear join between wing and fuselage, or body. This may be because one or other of these
195-544: A low-wing, shoulder-wing and high-wing configurations give increased propeller clearance on multi-engined aircraft. On a large aircraft, there is little practical difference between a shoulder wing and a high wing; but on a light aircraft, the configuration is significant because it offers superior visibility to the pilot. On light aircraft, shoulder-wings tend to be mounted further aft than a high wing, and so may need to be swept forward to maintain correct center of gravity . Examples of light aircraft with shoulder wings include
234-441: A pylon. Additional bracing may be provided by struts or wires extending from the fuselage sides. The first parasol monoplanes were adaptations of shoulder wing monoplanes, since raising a shoulder mounted wing above the fuselage greatly improved visibility downwards, which was useful for reconnaissance roles, as with the widely used Morane-Saulnier L . The parasol wing allows for an efficient design with good pilot visibility, and
273-405: A speed of 800 km/h (500 mph) despite its unreliable engine. The program was cancelled in early 1949 after only five flights as the engine's lack of thrust imposed tight limits on the types of test flying that it could do and Arsenal had refocused on the follow-on VG 90 carrier -based fighter. VG 70 VG 71 VG 80 Data from X-Planes of Europe: Secret Research Aircraft From
312-424: A variety of reasons. A small degree of sweep is sometimes used to adjust the centre of lift when the wing cannot be attached in the ideal position for some reason, such as a pilot's visibility from the cockpit. Other uses are described below. Some types of variable geometry vary the wing sweep during flight: The angle of a swept wing may also be varied, or cranked, along the span: On a few asymmetrical aircraft
351-475: A wing has to be rigid and strong and consequently may be heavy. By adding external bracing, the weight can be greatly reduced. Originally such bracing was always present, but it causes a large amount of drag at higher speeds and has not been used for faster designs since the early 1930s. The types are: Wings can also be characterised as: The wing planform is the silhouette of the wing when viewed from above or below. See also variable geometry types which vary
390-467: Is a configuration whereby the wing is mounted near the top of the fuselage but not on the very top. It is so called because it sits on the "shoulder" of the fuselage, rather than on the pilot's shoulder. Shoulder-wings and high-wings share some characteristics, namely: they support a pendulous fuselage which requires no wing dihedral for stability; and, by comparison with a low-wing, a shoulder-wing's limited ground effect reduces float on landing. Compared to
429-441: Is able to change the number of planes in flight. The Nikitin-Shevchenko IS "folding fighter" prototypes were able to morph between biplane and monoplane configurations after takeoff by folding the lower wing up into a cavity in the underside of the upper wing. The slip wing is a variation on the polymorphic idea, in which a low-wing monoplane is fitted with a second detachable "slip" wing above it to assist takeoff. The upper wing
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#1732797280857468-527: Is missing, or because they merge into each other: Some designs may fall into multiple categories depending on interpretation, for example many UAVs or drones can be seen either as a tailless blended wing-body or as a flying wing with a deep centre chord. A variable geometry aircraft is able to change its physical configuration during flight. Some types of variable geometry craft transition between fixed wing and rotary wing configurations. For more about these hybrids, see powered lift . A polymorphic wing
507-442: 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. 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
546-400: Is then released and discarded once in the air. The idea was first flown on the experimental Hillson Bi-mono . Aircraft may have additional minor aerodynamic surfaces. Some of these are treated as part of the overall wing configuration: Additional minor features may be applied to an existing aerodynamic surface such as the main wing: High-lift devices maintain lift at low speeds and delay
585-506: Is where the wing is mounted vertically on the fuselage . A low wing is one which is located on or near the bottom of the fuselage. Placing the wing low allows good visibility upwards and frees the central fuselage from the wing spar carry-through. By reducing pendulum stability, it makes the aircraft more manoeuvrable, as on the Spitfire ; but aircraft that value stability over manoeuvrability may then need some dihedral . A feature of
624-644: The ARV Super2 , the Bölkow Junior , Saab Safari and the Barber Snark . A high wing has its upper surface on or above the top of the fuselage. It shares many advantages and disadvantages with the shoulder wing, but on a light aircraft, the high wing has poorer upwards visibility. On light aircraft such as the Cessna 152 , the wing is usually located above the cabin, so that the wing spar passes over
663-489: The VG-30 prewar series of piston-engined fighters and Galtier took advantage of the company's experience of wooden construction to build the wing and empennage out of wood. The leading edge of the shoulder-mounted wing was swept back at an angle of 43° and the wing itself was given a dihedral of 6°. Seven fuel tanks were housed in the two- spar wing and dive brakes were positioned on its upper surface. The main wheels of
702-440: The cantilever wing more practical — first pioneered together by the revolutionary German Junkers J 1 factory demonstrator in 1915–16 — they became common during the post–World War I period, the day of the braced wing passed, and by the 1930s, the cantilever monoplane was fast becoming the standard configuration for a fixed-wing aircraft. Advanced monoplane fighter-aircraft designs were mass-produced for military services around
741-489: The tricycle landing gear retracted into the wings while the nose gear retracted into the lower part of the nose. The Jumo 004 turbojet, captured from the Germans, had 8.8 kilonewtons (1,978 lb f ) of thrust. It was positioned in the aft fuselage, together with three additional fuel tanks, and used air provided by a prominent semi-circular ventral intake underneath the cockpit . Wind-tunnel testing showed that it
780-537: The " Fokker scourge ". The German military Idflieg aircraft designation system prior to 1918 prefixed monoplane type designations with an E , until the approval of the Fokker D.VIII fighter from its former "E.V" designation. However, the success of the Fokker was short-lived, and World War I was dominated by biplanes. Towards the end of the war, the parasol monoplane became popular and successful designs were produced into
819-405: The 1920s. Nonetheless, relatively few monoplane types were built between 1914 and the late 1920s, compared with the number of biplanes. The reasons for this were primarily practical. With the low engine powers and airspeeds available, the wings of a monoplane needed to be large in order to create enough lift while a biplane could have two smaller wings and so be made smaller and lighter. Towards
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#1732797280857858-483: The Golden Age 1946–1974 General characteristics Performance Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Monoplane 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
897-456: The configurations described here have flown (if only very briefly) on full-size aircraft. A few theoretical designs are also notable. Note on terminology: Most fixed-wing aircraft have left hand and right hand wings in a symmetrical arrangement. Strictly, such a pair of wings is called a wing plane or just plane. However, in certain situations it is common to refer to a plane as a wing, as in "a biplane has two wings", or alternatively to refer to
936-435: The distinction between them is blurred, for example the wings of many modern combat aircraft may be described either as cropped compound deltas with (forwards or backwards) swept trailing edge, or as sharply tapered swept wings with large leading edge root extensions (or LERX). Some are therefore duplicated here under more than one heading. This is particularly so for variable geometry and combined (closed) wing types. Most of
975-413: The early 1930s. However, the exposed struts or wires create additional drag, lowering aerodynamic efficiency and reducing the maximum speed. High-speed and long-range designs tend to be pure cantilevers, while low-speed short-range types are often given bracing. Besides the general variations in wing configuration such as tail position and use of bracing, the main distinction between types of monoplane
1014-478: The end of the First World War, the inherent high drag of the biplane was beginning to restrict performance. Engines were not yet powerful enough to make the heavy cantilever-wing monoplane viable, and the braced parasol wing became popular on fighter aircraft, although few arrived in time to see combat. It remained popular throughout the 1920s. On flying boats with a shallow hull, a parasol wing allows
1053-487: The engines to be mounted above the spray from the water when taking off and landing. This arrangement was popular on flying boats during the 1930s; a late example being the Consolidated PBY Catalina . It died out when taller hulls became the norm during World War II, allowing a high wing to be attached directly to the hull. As ever-increasing engine powers made the weight of all-metal construction and
1092-589: The left and right hand sides are not mirror-images of each other: The classic aerofoil section wing is unstable in pitch, and requires some form of horizontal stabilizing surface. Also it cannot provide any significant pitch control, requiring a separate control surface (elevator) mounted elsewhere - usually on the horizontal stabilizer. Angling the wings up or down spanwise from root to tip can help to resolve various design issues, such as stability and control in flight. Some biplanes have different degrees of dihedral/anhedral on different wings. The Sopwith Camel had
1131-427: The low-wing position is its significant ground effect , giving the plane a tendency to float farther before landing. Conversely, this ground effect permits shorter takeoffs. A mid wing is mounted midway up the fuselage. The carry-through spar structure can reduce the useful fuselage volume near its centre of gravity, where space is often in most demand. A shoulder wing (a category between high-wing and mid-wing)
1170-491: The lower. Long thought to reduce the interference caused by the low pressure air over the lower wing mixing with the high pressure air under the upper wing; however the improvement is minimal and its primary benefit is to improve access to the fuselage. It is common on many successful biplanes and triplanes. Backwards stagger is also seen in a few examples such as the Beechcraft Staggerwing . To support itself
1209-447: The occupants' heads, leaving the wing in the ideal fore-aft position. An advantage of the high-wing configuration is that the fuselage is closer to the ground which eases cargo loading, especially for aircraft with a rear-fuselage cargo door. Military cargo aircraft are predominantly high-wing designs with a rear cargo door. A parasol wing is not directly attached to the fuselage but held above it, supported by either cabane struts or
Arsenal VG 70 - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-400: The program was terminated the following year. Jean Galtier, chief designer at Arsenal de l'Aéronautique , decided to build a turbojet-powered research aircraft in late 1945. He wished to investigate the aerodynamics of swept wings at high speeds to take advantage of captured German data to better understand how they might impact future fighter designs. Its all-metal fuselage was derived from
1287-416: The whole thing as a wing, as in "a biplane wing has two planes". Where the meaning is clear, this article follows common usage, only being more precise where needed to avoid real ambiguity or incorrectness. Fixed-wing aircraft can have different numbers of wings: A fixed-wing aircraft may have more than one wing plane, stacked one above another: A staggered design has the upper wing slightly forward of
1326-406: 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 and with a lower-powered and more economical engine. For this reason, all monoplane wings in the pioneer era were braced and most were up until
1365-475: The wing planform during flight. The aspect ratio is the span divided by the mean or average chord. It is a measure of how long and slender the wing appears when seen from above or below. Most variable geometry configurations vary the aspect ratio in some way, either deliberately or as a side effect. The wing chord may be varied along the span of the wing, for both structural and aerodynamic reasons. Wings may be swept back, or occasionally forwards, for
1404-740: The world in both the Soviet Union and the United States in the early–mid 1930s, with the Polikarpov I-16 and the Boeing P-26 Peashooter respectively. Most military aircraft of WWII were monoplanes, as have been virtually all aircraft since, except for a few specialist types. Jet and rocket engines have even more power and all modern high-speed aircraft, especially supersonic types, have been monoplanes. Wing configuration The wing configuration of
1443-466: Was adopted for some fighters such as the Fokker D.VIII and Morane-Saulnier AI in the later part of the First World War. A parasol wing also provides a high mounting point for engines and during the interwar period was popular on flying boats, which need to lift the propellers clear of spray. Examples include the Martin M-130 , Dornier Do 18 and the Consolidated PBY Catalina . Compared to
1482-503: Was not as effective as had been hoped, although the airframe was deemed capable of reaching a speed of 900 km/h (560 mph) and Mach 0.9 in a shallow dive given enough thrust. Construction of the aircraft was completed in 1947 and it had begun taxiing tests in October, but wind-tunnel testing revealed some potential aerodynamic problems that delayed its first flight by over six months. It finally flew on 23 June 1948 and achieved
1521-553: Was the 1907 Santos-Dumont Demoiselle , while the Blériot XI flew across the English Channel in 1909. Throughout 1909–1910, Hubert Latham set multiple altitude records in his Antoinette IV monoplane, eventually reaching 1,384 m (4,541 ft). The equivalent German language term is Eindecker , as in the mid-wing Fokker Eindecker fighter of 1915 which for a time dominated the skies in what became known as
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