AIRCRAFT DESIGN RADICAL CHANGES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20668, 5 March 1937, Page 11

AIRCRAFT DESIGN

RADICAL CHANGES

ADVANTAGES TO BRITAIN LONDON, February 15. Britain, by having deliberately delayed the Royal Air Force building programme, enjoys considerable advantage over other Powers. Her efforts will now be concentrated on new types and largely on a new method of aircraft construction, says the aviation correspondent of the Dally Telegraph. “There has been a fundamental change In design in many types,” says the correspondent, “and this has demanded the scrapping of much old machinery and of method. Countries which have been expanding with great energy in the production of types dating from bafore this change have to some extent wasted their effort. New Construction “The change is based on research, new designs and the adoption of stressed-skin construction, in which the wings and other members have hard shells so strong that they sustain the burden of flight at great speeds in all manoeuvres with the loads required. “Hitherto the great majority of aircraft had an interior framework of built-up spars. In many cases even wings were supported by exterior bracing. Many of these are still being produced, and those of good performance are by no means regarded as obsolete. Some, indeed, have been designed for what was until recently regarded as rapid production. “It is a remarkable fact that although Germany led the way in stressed-skin design and construction, the corrugated metal wings raid bodies which characterised many of her principal types are unsuitable for the greatly-increased performance demanded of modern types. Problems of Change-over “Smooth-skin all-metal types are now being produced In Germany, but ae yet on a relatively small scale. The corrugated metal-skin machine was suitable enough for comparatively low speeds, but, among other drawbacks, the air friction due to its uneven surface prevents the attainment of speeds of 250 to 300 miles an hour, which is expected nowadays. “The German speed-up of aircraft manufacture in a sense began too soon, and money, to some extent, has been spent on types which are not the most up-to-date. “It is neither easy nor cheap to change over to the new system. The process takes a long time, and at present all countries are experiencing a shortage of the special tools needed, and the change in workshop practice is a formidable business. France and Italy are faced with the same problem.”