Post amazingly cool pictures of aircraft (Volume 2)
Discussion
Interesting how the post-war British jet bomber designs (and Comet/Nimrod) from different manufacturers (Vickers, Avro, Handley Page, English Electric, De Havilland/Hawker-Siddeley) all had the engines within the wings, whereas the American bombers generally had them in pods dangling underneath. Think B47, B52, B58 & B66.
Interesting because the Americans copped on very quickly of the big structural benefits and weight savings you could get from mounting engines on underwing pylons. It's not just the fact that they were under the wings that made a difference, if you look at where the engines are on a B-47 and subsequent Boeing and Douglas designs, you will see they are also mounted quite a bit forward of the wing leading edge. It all helps counteract a swept wing's tendency to bend without needing an over hefty and weighty wing spar.
LotusOmega375D said:
Interesting how the post-war British jet bomber designs (and Comet/Nimrod) from different manufacturers (Vickers, Avro, Handley Page, English Electric, De Havilland/Hawker-Siddeley) all had the engines within the wings, whereas the American bombers generally had them in pods dangling underneath. Think B47, B52, B58 & B66.
Working out how to put engines in underwing pods was surprisingly tricky, the pod itself has to 'fly' to some extent. The USAF insisted on it for the B47 because it gave the aircraft a chance of surviving an engine fire, so once Boeing had developed it the arrangement became the norm for US aircraft.There was a Vickers proposal (V1000) to rival the 707 and DC8 and this still had engines in the wing root like the Valiant, but I think there was an intention that MK2 would have podded engines.
The VC10 could have had engines beneath the wings but was optimised for dusty African airfields with short runways so putting the engines at the tail protected them from FOD and allowed a cleaner more efficient wing.
Of course by putting the centre of gravity so far back it meant an enormous heavy tail which pushed operating cost up. On the other hand all the passengers were sitting in front of the engines so had a quieter ride.
The main reason why the B-47 ended up with engines where it did was to counteract the wing bending/twisting moment. Once Boeing decided to proceed with a swept wing design, they immediately ran into these wing bending issues. One solution was to make the wing thick with a hefty and weighty wing spar. However, the extra weight would have negated the aerodynamic benefits of the swept wing.
They found that by mounting the engines under the wing ON PYLONS and locating the bulk of the engine mass ahead of the wing leading edge, they could counteract wing bending/twisting without having to use a thick wing with a heavy spar.
The B-47 really was a pioneering aeroplane and doesn't always get the recognition it deserves.
They found that by mounting the engines under the wing ON PYLONS and locating the bulk of the engine mass ahead of the wing leading edge, they could counteract wing bending/twisting without having to use a thick wing with a heavy spar.
The B-47 really was a pioneering aeroplane and doesn't always get the recognition it deserves.
Eric Mc said:
Interesting because the Americans copped on very quickly of the big structural benefits and weight savings you could get from mounting engines on underwing pylons. It's not just the fact that they were under the wings that made a difference, if you look at where the engines are on a B-47 and subsequent Boeing and Douglas designs, you will see they are also mounted quite a bit forward of the wing leading edge. It all helps counteract a swept wing's tendency to bend without needing an over hefty and weighty wing spar.
The pylons also assist with reducing transonic drag, area rule drag reduction.MartG said:
Swiss Mirage III and Mt Cervin
Got to say that the Swiss Air Force pilots have the best job in the world. All that scenery to fly around, fast jets (they always seem to choose the good-looking ones) and no chance of getting shot at ("Hey, just send us your loot instead of any warplanes!").Plus weekends and evenings with their feet up.
SYNCRO said:
One of the aircraft I work with loading Apache attach helos at Wattisham.......along with more of the fleet
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/tmUNuSkM[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/eDnAlLBF[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/hrvPhQJk[/url]
It seems to have gained a couple of extra engines in that last shot! [url]|https://thumbsnap.com/tmUNuSkM[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/eDnAlLBF[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/hrvPhQJk[/url]
)
|https://thumbsnap.com/tFB2uACt[/url
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff