TREND OF DESIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20650, 23 August 1930, Page 8 (Supplement)

TREND OF DESIGN.

ELIMINATING FUSELAGES. Experiments in aircraft construction in Germany and the United States, if carried out successfully, may result in the fuselage of aeroplanes being entirely eliminated. The experiments are tending to produce planes consisting of oija huge shallow wing, which will itself constitute the body and the sustaining surface of tho machine. In the wing a large number of engines will be completely housed, and it will also contain quantities of fuel and freight, and will provide ample .accomodation for many passengers. Tho experiments are based on the principle that aerofoils, tested by themselves, have maximum lift ratios and that it is only the addition of such portions of the modern aircraft as the fuselage, undercarriage and tail that account for the decrease lift ratio of tho assembled aeroplane. Model Already Tested. With the removal of those elements from the construction as separate entities, the efficiency of tho modern aeroplane would more nearly coincide with that of tho wing itself, with a resultant higher speed and a more economical disposable lift ratio. ' > The first flying model to be tried out along these lines has been built by the Northrop Aircraft Corporation of the United States, and from all accounts its preliminary flying tests have met with a fair measure of success, the machine having a top speed approximately 25 per cent, higher than that of any design of like power and capacity. By means of this flying model it will be possible to collect data from which to build up the larger machine that this firm proposes to place on tho market, and particularly the new form of weight distribution by means of which the entire load will be carried on the so-called " skin " of the wings. New Junkers Machine. Tho new Junkers G. 38, which 5s the largest land plane in the world to be put into operation, gives a very clear indication of the lines which the larger transport machines will be built for some time to come. Whilst it is not entirely an allwing machine, having both an undercarriage and a tail, its design shows a very definite step towards the single flying wing. Tho Junkers G. 38 has already been tested satisfactorily and arrangements are being made for a further test in tho shape of a circular flight within Germany, in the courso of which the machine will have 20 passengers on board for a prolonged flying period.