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Development of Aircraft Structures | |
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For the first several years, airplanes were built from very lightweight materials. The body and the wings were made with bamboo, wood and fabric (cloth). The frame and wings were put together like a bridge. The pieces of wood braced each other like triangles and then were covered with fabric. The first airplanes had two pairs of wings. This was necessary to make the frame strong enough to not break while flying! The figure below shows the basic construction of the wing of the Sopwith Camel, World War I fighter. Later, metal pieces were used to make parts of the frame. A thin skin of metal was put over the frame instead of fabric. The metal frame parts were heavy and hooked together by rivets. This was needed for the bigger, faster planes. Then, someone thought of an idea. Make the metal skin thicker! The thicker skin helped carry the load on the frame. The whole airplane was now lighter and stronger! Soon, the biplane design (two wings) was not needed anymore. The faster airplanes had one wing (monoplane). There was less drag with one wing.
Today, engineers are helping to improve the structure of airplanes.
They are making better and lighter parts and using improved alloys
(metals).
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