JUNE 4TH,

1942

FLIGHT

563 or set symmetrically about the leading-edge, that is, when seen head-on the hub of the airscrew is level with the leading-edge. In the case of four-engined machines, they may all be underslung, all level with the leading-edge, or a paired-off combination of both, in which case the inner pair will be underslung. Again, there are a few exceptions, such as the Do 26 flying boat, which has two pairs in tandem carried in two nacelles above the " s h o u l d e r s " of the gulled wing, driving two tractor and two pusher airscrews.
Projecting fuselage

rudder; then there is the twin fin and rudder which may be attached to the tips of the tailplane or set some distance inboard from the tips. The '' inboard'' type are also divided into those which are mounted wholly above the' tailplane and those projecting both above and below the horizontal surface. There is also a small group in which the tailplane has dihedral angle (in the vast majority of cases it is flat) and this may have either single or twin vertical surfaces, and finally another small group in which the tailplane, essentially of the twin fin and rudder type, which is attached at its tips to twin booms. The Lockheed Lightning is a good example of this last group. Tailplanes may be mounted either across the top of the fuselage, across the bottom of it, threaded through it, or finally, on .the fin above the fuselage, as for example in the case of the Whirlwind and a number of flying boats. Aspect Ratio T ' H E aspect ratio of a wing, tailplane, or nn and rudder -"* is the relation between its two dimensions. In the case of the first two surfaces, it is the span divided by the mean chord; in the case of the fin and rudderit is theheight divided by the mean distance from leading to trailing-edge. (The chord of a wing is, of course, the width from leading- to trailing-edge.) Wings with a wide span compared to their chord are said to be of high aspect ratio (e.g. the Wellington), and those with a comparatively wide chord, of low aspect ratio (e.g. the Spitfire). German*' is inclined to favour low to moderate aspect ratio types.
HIGH ASPECT RATIO LOW ASPECT RATIO

cz
Engines projecting beyond fuselage.

Fuselage level with engines

^fH

Radial

In-line

TAILPLANE

FIN i. RUDDER

Engines '"THE type of engine fitted and, h r the case of multi"* engines, their position on the wings, are two important clues to the identity of an aircraft. They fall into two basic JXQjf classes, the air-cooled radial and the in-line liquidco^Ped engine. The former is invariably enclosed within a circular cowling, while the latter is mounted in a streamlined nacelle. Certain German types, however, provide a misleading exception, in which a circular radiator is mounted on the nose of the in-line nacelle, making it look like a radial installation ; the Ju 88 is the best-known example of this. With a few obsolescent civil exceptions, all British aircraft of the multi-engined type have either two or four engines, but Germany has one notable exception in the three-engined Ju 52 troop transport and at least two threeengined flying boats. Italy has several three-engined aircraft, but none in service with four engines. Engines mounted on the wing may be either underslung

Another point to observe is the alignment of wing engines with the nose of the fuselage. In the majority of cases the nose projects beyond the engines, but it may be level, as in the Ju 88, or the engines may project beyond the nose as in the case ot the Beaufighter. Floatplanes and Flying Boats A IRCRAFT designed to operate from water are divided ^*' into two main categories : floatplanes in which pontoon floats take the place of wheeled landing gear on aircraft otherwise similar in construction to landplanes, and flying boats in which the fuselage of the landplane gives place to a boat-like hull. Either class may be monoplane or biplane but, as in the case of aircraft in general, the biplane is now very much in the minority because of its much higher drag and, therefore, lower speed. Floatplanes are usually carried on the water on two floats, but the single centrally placed float, with small stabilising floats out towards the wing tips, is sometimes encountered on the smaller and lighter types of biplane ; until quite recently, for example, a single-float biplane was the standard elementary trainer used at the big U.S. Navy flying school at Pensacola. Monoplane flying boats are all of the high-wing, gulledwing or pedestal-wing type and for an obvious reason, their engines are never underslung on the wing, but are

Flying "boat wtth"sea.-urtngs"or sponsors and various engine arrangements.

Blitlanc flying-boat with, fixed wing' -tip floats and various engine arrangements.

SymtntXrical on leading ed$e

UruUr&luni

Three engines,

either level with the leading-edge (e.g., Sunderland, Catalina, Lerwick), or are mounted above it (e.g., Do 26). Stabilising floats, which may be fixed or retractable, are generally fitted beneath the wings, but some older designs, such as the Do 24, have " s e a wings," or sponsons, on the waterline of the hull. The biplane flying boat invariably has its engine or engines between the wings, the most familiar British example being the still useful Walrus amphibian, with its single engine driving a pusher airscrew from a streamlined " power egg." {Continued overleaf.)