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The Waco biplanes of the 1920's had it as well, but they were ground adjustable. When you think about it, if you have not yet invented Bowden cables, using trim tabs on the control surfaces is a real challenge.I think there were others in the WWI era, but I do not remember which airframes.
HiThe Waco biplanes of the 1920's had it as well, but they were ground adjustable. When you think about it, if you have not yet invented Bowden cables, using trim tabs on the control surfaces is a real challenge.
Excerpt from the book:In With Wings Like Eagles, Michael Korda wrote that Sydney Camm chose to cover much of the Hurricane with fabric to allow ground crews familiar with fabric maintenance and repair to transition to the Hurricane for maintenance.
I think it was the combo of lightweight, relatively small surfaces able to be worked upon if need be and also the fact that it was already a well known and proven capability vs all metal skinning.
I was told by an ex-RAAF fitter that depleted uranium was used in mass-balance aileron weights - can't verify itI would say the main reason for using fabric on control surfaces has to do with them having to be statically balanced around their hinge axis.
This is usually accomplished by placing lead forward of the hinge line to counteract the weight of the aileron behind it. And since the hinge line is usually so far forward, if you add weight on the aileron surface as such by replacing the fabric with metal skins, then the short moment of arm means you have to add a lot of extra lead.
So it's not the added weight of the metal skinning as such that is the problem, but rather the increased amount of balancing lead required to get it back in balance around the hinge line.
Maybe today. Certainly not during WWII.I was told by an ex-RAAF fitter that depleted uranium was used in mass-balance aileron weights - can't verify it
I was told by an ex-RAAF fitter that depleted uranium was used in mass-balance aileron weights - can't verify it
I was told by an ex-RAAF fitter that depleted uranium was used in mass-balance aileron weights - can't verify it
Doesn't the 747 have DU in the tail for weight balance?I was told by an ex-RAAF fitter that depleted uranium was used in mass-balance aileron weights - can't verify it
Doped patches in the RAF were de rigour at least to the end of WW2 for fast/patched to get aircraft in the air. Used to have a photo in the family album of a 463 Lanc that had ammunition belts hanging out of a hole fwd of the entry door. The old Man said, the airframe guys would have dressed the panel as best they could and then tacked the metal to bits of kerosene packing case before dope-ing over it to be ready for the next day. Bill Purdy who was also on 463 was with us on Anzac DayIn With Wings Like Eagles, Michael Korda wrote that Sydney Camm chose to cover much of the Hurricane with fabric to allow ground crews familiar with fabric maintenance and repair to transition to the Hurricane for maintenance.
With the pressure to get as many aircraft "UP" to meet a mission schedule, this was a widespread practice. This was common for all services in ALL combatant countries, especially for flak splinter holes that didn't affect structural members, just punctures in metal skin.Doped patches in the RAF were de rigour at least to the end of WW2 for fast/patched to get aircraft in the air.
This reminds of me of when I was managing a satellite launch campaign in Xichang, China, 1995 when the US could launch from China. The satellite used an An-124 for the airlift in from the USA. When landing, the plane tore part of a wheel well cover. The load master asked if we hand aluminum tape, we didn't so they used duct tape to secure the tear, and off they went after unloading.With the pressure to get as many aircraft "UP" to meet a mission schedule, this was a widespread practice. This was common for all services in ALL combatant countries, especially for flak splinter holes that didn't affect structural members, just punctures in metal skin.
Holes would be drilled or filed round to prevent stress rising cracks, and fabric would be attached with various glues ... often dope, but the aluminum would usually be roughened with harsh grit sandpaper or files, and by Vietnam, we used some more aggressive two component epoxy/resin/RTV type glues.
Also, expedient metal patches were thrown on using blind rivets or Parker Kalon self tapping screws, sometimes with glues and overlaid doped fabric.
I saw a P2V that had the front of the lower radome deteriorate (salt and sand abrasion) at a remote Mediterranean airfield, and get patched with thin tin covered with ubiquitous "200 mph" duct tape. It made it to the repair base, just fine.