The airways

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19268, 3 January 1931, Page 18 (Supplement)

The airways

Doubtless you will have noticed that in civil aviation the monoplane is steadily gaining l in favour. You will have remarked, also, that in some machines, as, for example, in the Junkers and the Klemm, the body of the aeroplane sits, as it were, upon the wing; whereas in other types, such aS the Fokker, the Puss Moth, and the Desoutter, the body is hung below the whig. From the point of view of strength and lightness in construction there is probably little to choose between the two methods. With the low wing scheme one certainly has excellent visibility all round, and it is rather pleasant to feel that you arc, so to speak, right on the top of things. On the other hand, with the high >ring there is that if, by,

HIGH AND LOW ’PLANES,

reason of a bad landing, you should finish up with the machine on its back, there is plenty of strong material to afford you protection. One great benefit of the monoplane, of either type, is that in the event of local damage new wings can easily be put in place, and as they are selfcontained units with internal strengthening, when of the modern high-lift type, they require little or no “rigging.” This is where the monoplane scores over the biplane, though it is obvious that the latter has certain advantages of its own, otherwise it would not be so extensively used for service purposes. This is a matter which we will discuss when, later in this series, we consider some of the differences between military and civil aircraft.