THE TWO TYPES

Evening Star, Issue 21254, 8 November 1932, Page 10

THE TWO TYPES

RIVAL AIRCRAFT BIPLANE’S ADVANTAGE For twenty-five years there has been rivalry between the biplane and the monoplane. It continues with increasing keenness, and now covers the whole field, from the “light aeroplane” to tho thirty-five-tonner, writes Major C. C. Turner in the London ‘ Daily Telegraph. T . Both in America and in I’ranee efforts are being made to produce fighters and day bombers for the respective Air Forces which will at least equal the British Fury and Firefly single-seaters and tho Hart and Fox two-seaters. The principal U.S.A. and French designs are monoplanes. The British machines, by far the best of their classes in the world, are biplanes. The new Short military six-engined flying boat is a biplane. Other British flying-boats which are foremost m design and operation are also biplanes. The German Do-X flying-boat, which is far from being a complete success, is nominally a monoplane, but it has auxiliary stub wings below the main wing, and over all is an auxiliary wing carrying tho six pairs of engines. The Blackburn Aeroplane Company was commissioned by- the Air Ministry to build a monoplane and a biplane similar in power, load, fuselage, and general equipment, in order that complete operational tests might be made. The biplane was shown at this year’s R.A.F. display. It is a twin-engined machine of an all-on weight of nearly five and a-lialf tons. The comparison monoplane is now nearly ready for tests. ‘ GREATER AVING AREA. The fastest aeroplane in the world is the Schneider Trophy winner, the Supermarine-Rolls Royce seaplane. In 1931, as in 1929, Great Britain non the contest with monoplanes. The outstanding quality of these craft was their speed, to which other requirements were sacrificed ; but it need hardly be said that both in the case of fighting aeroplanes and civil aircraft other considerations than mere speed aro important. The biplane lias the advantage of the possibility of securing a greater total wing area for a given wing span. The wings are mutually supporting, apd can be made relatively light for a given strength. The monoplane’s wings, on the other hand, must cither be strongly and heavily built on the cantilever principle, or else must have exterior stmts, which increase bolli weight and resistance.

Generally speaking, if due regard be paid to strength, the monoplane-will have a higher wing-loading than tho biplane of equal speed, which means that it takes off and lands at greater speed. If, as is usually the case, tho monoplane is a low-resistance design, it “Heats” a long way in the air near the ground as it comes into land ami takes the ground or the water at high speed. This is a disadvantage both in military and civil aircraft.

Nothing has yet occurred in aircraft development to disprove the contention that the biplane, in any class, should have a better landing performance and carry a bigger useful load than tho monoplane.