You are on page 1of 8

American Academy of Political and Social Science

Sage Publications, Inc.


Aircraft Engineering
Author(s): T. P. Wright
Source: The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 131, Aviation (
May, 1927), pp. 27-33
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of Political and
Social Science
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1015741
Accessed: 20-10-2015 02:48 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

American Academy of Political and Social Science and Sage Publications, Inc. are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,
preserve and extend access to The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 104.194.102.249 on Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:48:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Aircraft Engineering
By T. P. WRIGHT,B.S.
Chief Engineer, Airplane Division, Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co. Inc.

BY

aircraft is meant any weightcarrying device or structure designed to be supported by the air.
There are two classes of aircraft,
heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air,
the former obtaining its lift from
dynamic air pressure, the latter from
buoyancy due to displacement of air by
a lighter gas. The present article will
deal entirely with heavier-than-aircraft or airplanes.

to airplane design and construction.


This of course is true of the development of any art, as a considerable
period of research and of attainment of
practical experience is necessary before
the systematic methods of an engineering organization can be applied.
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

The stages of development of aviation may be conveniently grouped into


three periods, namely, the period before
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND
the war, the period during and imDEFINITIONS
mediately following the war, and the
It seems desirable, before describing period thereafter.
There seem to be two distinct subthe engineering methods used in designing an airplane today, to review briefly divisions of the stage of development
the stages of development of aviation, prior to the war, the first commencing
noting particularly the engineering about 1890 and lasting until 1903, and
progress made during each stage. In the second extending from 1903 to
order to fix clearly in mind the status of 1914. During the earlier period there
the development during each period were at work two quite distinct types of
discussed, it is well to consider the men. One type is represented by
meaning of such general terms as Professor Langley seeking knowledge
"art," "science," and "engineering." of aerodynamics by truly scientific
Whereas mechanical art implies a prac- methods of research. By means of a
tical application of knowledge, science whirling arm, Professor Langley obrefers to an exact and systematic state- tained and measured the aerodynamic
ment of knowledge. Art always re- forces on flat plates mounted at the end
lates to something to be done, science to of the arm. From data thus obtained,
something to be known. In engineer- an airplane was designed and coning is included the basic idea of execut- structed, which succeeded in lifting its
ing or managing a construction or own weight. Unfortunate circumdesign. It will be seen that at a rela- stances not pertaining directly to the
tively early date a considerable amount airplane, apparently prevented him
of scientific information pertaining to from seeing his machine with power
aviation was brought together, and carry a man into the air. There was
that experiments were conducted, some another type of investigator at work
by scientific and some by rule-of-thumb during this period represented by
methods. It has not been, however, Lillienthal in Germany, and Chanute
until very recently, that engineering and the Wright Brothers in this Counmethods have been applied uniformly try. The efforts of .these men were
27

This content downloaded from 104.194.102.249 on Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:48:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

28

THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

directed to gliders. Great numbers of


gliding flights were made, usually
culminating in a disaster. These accidents were due principally to dependence for lateral control on the slight
effect of shifting the center of gravity,
accomplished by moving the legs of the
operator. The first to solve this fundamental problem of flight were the
Wright Brothers. They obtained
lateral control by warping the wings on
either side, thus securing a counteracting force by increasing or decreasing
the lift on one side or the other of their
machine, as necessitated by the attitude assumed after striking a current of
air. The first human flight in a power
operated airplane was made by Orville
Wright on December 17, 1903. It is
thus seen that this first subdivision of
the first stage of development of the art
closes with the attainment of flight,
accompanied by the accumulation of a
certain amount of scientific knowledge,
some gained through laboratory and
some through gliding experiments.
The next period, from 1903 to 1914,
is characterized particularly by the
rapid development of an adjunct of the
airplane, the gasoline engine. Only
slow progress was made in the development of the airplane itself. Flights of
greater speed and longer duration were
achieved and a number of improvements made. The outstanding flyers
of this period were the Wrights, Curtiss,
who was the first to fly from and light
on the water, Bleriot, Santos Dumont
and Farman. Their contribution to
the art was of the nature of invention.
There was, however, another type of
men at work who were developing and
using the basic equipment used in
aerodynamic research, the wind tunnel.
Experiments of vast scientific value
were carried out in France by Eiffel, in
Italy by Crocco, in Germany by Prandl,
and in England at the National Physical Laboratory. The standard mathe-

matical equations of motion of a rigid


body were applied to the disturbed
motions of an airplane by Bryan in
England, culminating in his book published in 1911. No essential changes
in the theory have since been found
necessary. This period of development may be considered as closing with
the commencement of the war. The
art had advanced to such an extent
that it may be considered that the
mathematical theory was established;
scientific experimental equipment was
being used, and flights were being
made. There was, however, strictly
speaking, yet no airplane engineering.
The next stage of development includes the years of the War and the two
or three years just following it. The
advance of course was by leaps and
bounds. However, the progress, both
in quantity and quality required, was
greater than could be attained on a
sound engineering basis. In consequence there were many design failures,
only discovered as such after very large
quantities of units or completed machines were constructed. Engineering
organizations were gotten together, and
functioned to as great an extent as was
possible under the conditions. The
machines produced were, however,
more of the nature of designs by individuals than by systematically functioning engineering groups. It may,
however, be said that it was during this
period of rapid advance that airplane
engineering commenced. Certainly
the science of aeronautics was well
advanced.
The latest stage of development catl
also be divided into two periods, from
1921 to 1925, and from 1925 to the
present time. The former period was
characterized in the industry by the
successive failure of over half of
the companies existant at the close of the
war. There were endless controversies
and investigations. In the companies

This content downloaded from 104.194.102.249 on Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:48:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

AIRCRAFT

ENGINEERING

which were able to exist, only slight


progress could be made in engineering,
as in all but one or two cases the engineering organizations were disbanded.
Some advance in the art was made,
however, notably in the development
of high speed machines. During this
period speeds were increased roughly
'from 150 to 250 miles per hour. Also,
although not involved in the engineering progress of the art, this period saw
the commencement of commercial aviation in this country, the most noteworthy feature being the establishment
and successful operation of the Air
Mail. The lack of a definite policy on
the part of the government with regard
to the industry, received a great deal of
attention, and after several Congressional committees had investigated the
situation, a group was selected by the
President to report fully the conditions
found after making a thorough search
for facts. This was the Morrow Board,
whose report in December 1925 may be
considered as one of the most important
documents of American aviation.
Sound recommendations were made on
practically all phases of the subject.
The subsequent adoption by Congress
of the greater part of the recommendation gave new life to the industry and
new impetus to progress in the art.
The latest period of this stage of
development may therefore be considered as beginning just after the
Morrow Board report was published.
Civil aviation started to be a reality;
military aviation policy was established, and the industry was in a
healthy condition. This permitted the
continuance and formation of airplane
engineering groups, comparable in
organization and in methods used to
those of the more firmly established
industries. Thus in the present period
theory and practice are being coordinated so that aeronautics may be
now considered both an art and a

29

science, with designs produced with


advance assurance of success, because
of the systematic methods employed
by the Engineering Departments of the
various companies. It has been said
that "progress in engineering science,
like changes in the sphere of political
organization, may be by evolution or
by revolution." In general, during the
earlier stages of development described
above, the latter type held. It is
believed that the present stage may be
characterized as a period of evolution.
There is being made a scientific analysis
of experience gained, reducing the
lessons to engineering terms. It is a
period of "patient spade work," much
needed in aviation.
PRESENT STATE OF THE ART

Airplane Engineering
Airplane Engineering is perhaps
unique in that it includes within itself
practically all other recognized branches
of engineering. Although, of course,
no branch of engineering when dealt
with in practice can be found to be
isolated and out of contact of some sort
with other arts and sciences, it appears
that in Airplane Engineering, more
than in other cases, a considerable
number of distinct branches of engineering assume a major and equal
importance.
Naval Architecture
For the general method of attack of
new problems, the airplane engineer
borrows from the naval architect. All
engineers base their procedure, or
should do so, on the experience of others
in their field, yet it is perhaps more true
in naval architecture than in other
branches, that new design is made to
follow closely a precedent of former
practice; with only sufficient improvement to warrant the new structure.
Aside from the general method of
attack there are three or four specific

This content downloaded from 104.194.102.249 on Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:48:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

30

THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

problems which are common to the


naval architect and the airplane engineer, and which are treated in much the
same manner. These include problems of weight with its distribution, the
design of propellers, the determinations
by model test of the dynamic factors
entering into conditions of equilibrium,
and the determination by an entirely
different type of model test of the
stability and general behavior of floats
or hulls on the water, used in designing
seaplanes and flying boats.
Without doubt, weight and weight
distribution, or balance, are of more
importance in airplane design than in
any other branch of engineering. The
very nature of the duty which an airplane performs, the lifting of objects
into the air, indicates that the strictest
attention must be paid to weight
economy. It has been said that a new
design can be judged a success or failure
immediately, when after completion, it
is placed on the scales. A measure of
the efficiency of an airplane is the ratio
of the useful or disposable load carried
to the gross weight. Obviously, any
overweight in the structure reduces by
an exactly equal amount the useful load
for which the machine was designed.
The essential nature of weight economy
must be constantly before the airplane
engineer.
An airplane must not only be light, it
must also be stable. This characteristic is dependent on the location of the
center of gravity, or on weight distribution along the longitudinal axis. Therefore, when considering any detail of the
design which calculations or actual
weighing shows to depart in weight
from the original estimate, due account
must be given to the effect on balance
as well as on reduction in useful load
involved.
In the design of the screw propeller
the airplane engineer and the naval
architect are on common ground.

Although the effect, quantitatively, of


the various elements of design, are
vastly different in the case of a propeller
designed for use in air as compared to
one for use in water, nevertheless the
same problems do exist. It is quite
interesting to note that it is only quite
recently that air screw designers have
come to realize that better results can
be obtained by modifying slightly a
previously constructed successful design, rather than by attempting to
effect a completely new design, based
on theoretical considerations, to cover
the new conditions. This fact has, of
course, long been known and followed
by the naval architect.
Before proceeding with the construction of a new design of ship, the naval
architect assures himself that the completed vessel will be satisfactory on the
water from the standpoint of stability
in waves, by testing a model in a towing
basin. The. airplane designer uses the
same equipment in connection with
float and hull design for seaplanes, and
analogous equipment for determining
stability and controllability characteristics of his machine in the air. The
latter equipment consists of a wind
tunnel, in which all forces and moments
on an accurately constructed model
are determined for the various attitudes
which the airplane may assume. An
air stream of known velocity is forced
past the model which is mounted on an
extremely accurate balance. From the
results of such model tests and with a
knowledge of the laws of dynamic
similarity, the aeronautical engineer
can predict, with an accuracy astonishing to the laymen, the characteristics
and performance of the full size airplane.
Aeronautical Engineering
Aeronautical engineering is a new
branch, peculiar to the design of airplanes. In the present instant it is

This content downloaded from 104.194.102.249 on Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:48:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

ENGINEERING
AIRCRAFT
defined as covering the limited field of
aerodynamics although it is frequently
and perhaps more correctly made
synonomous with airplane engineering.
The aeronautical engineer deals with
the forces produced on solid bodies by
air in motion. His particular field in
airplane design is, therefore, air resistance, stability, and controllability, all
of which are determined both analytically and experimentally. The wind
tunnel, described above, is the equipment of the aeronautical engineer.
Civil Engineering
In matters of structural design, the
methods of the civil engineer are closely
followed. They are, however, extended and refined to an extent seldom,
if ever, required in bridge or building
construction. This refinementof structural analysis is necessitated by the
extreme importance of weight saving,
above referred to, and by the equal or
greater requirement of absolute structural safety. Each detail, as well as
the main structural members, must be
carefully analyzed for strength and
weight; the two factors interact throughout the design. The problems encountered are more novel and varying
in character, and, therefore, require
closer study than is usually necessary in
the structural analyses involved in the
older branches of structural engineering, such as the design of bridges or
buildings.
Mechanical Engineering
The mechanical engineer is found in
an airplane engineering organization in
the design staff, where he lays out and
designs not only the general arrangement of the complete machine, but also
the detail parts and mechanisms. The
number and diversity of parts involved
in an airplane are frequently not realized. Essentially an airplane consists
of a body, the functions of which are to

81

house the crew, passengers, cargo and


equipment; a supporting wing structure; stabilizing and control surfaces,
with necessary control mechanism;
landing gear for alighting on land or
water (or both) and the power plant
consisting of engine and propeller. All
require for proper designing the
attention of the mechanical engineer.
Materials Engineering
Under this heading is included the
metallurgical and chemical engineering
branches. Alloys of steel and aluminum, requiring the attention of men
versed in the above sciences, are used
extensively in airplane construction.
In addition, there are a great number of
other special materials used including
wood, fabric, dope, paint, and miscellaneous non-ferrous metals. When
consideration is given to the ever
present need of weight saving, it can be
seen that highly trained men must have
cognizance of the special problems
arising from the use of materials of such
a diversified character.
General Engineering Problems
Under this heading fall the problems,
common to all engineering concerns,
such as drafting, estimating, inspection
and standardization. The latter consideration is one requiring constant
attention, in order that there may be
attained a proper balance between
reduced costs of construction on the one
hand, and advancement of the art on
the other.
The above outline, indicating the
branches of engineering involved in an
airplane engineering department, will
immediately suggest the prime necessity of organization, and the establishment of systematic methods of procedure in producing new designs. Being
new and difficult, the field is of necessity inspiring.

This content downloaded from 104.194.102.249 on Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:48:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

32

THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICANACADEMY


EQUIPMENT

The vast expense involved in producing a new design makes it absolutely


essential, that insofar as is humanly
possible, all chance of failure be eliminated. This makes necessary the
availability to the airplane engineering organization of proper equipment.
The principle items of equipment necessary are the following:
1. Wind tunnel for predetermining
aerodynamic characteristics.
2. Testing machines for determining
strength of materials and parts.
3. Static test equipment for testing
structural assemblies.
4. Model basin for predetermining
hydrodynamic characteristics of
floats.
5. Whirl test rig for testing propellers.
6. Flying field and full flight test
equipment.
All items should be immediately
available for use. The expense involved is, however, more than any
company now existent can afford to set
aside for this purpose. Nevertheless,
it is extremely desirable that the first
three and last items be directly available, and operated by the staff of the
designing organization. At present all
the large companies are equipped with
items 2 and 3; several with item 6; one
or two with item 1; and none with
items 4 and 5, in which cases it is necessary to have recourse to government
owned and operated equipment.
In order to establish airplane engineering on a scientific basis, good
equipment must be available. It is to
be hoped that all major companies will
gradually equip themselves with the
items above listed. The ideal toward
which airplane engineering should develop, is the creation of designs through
a systematic procedure, by a group of

guided experts using properly functioning equipment.


RESEARCH

Although a great amount of aeronautical research, both along the lines


of applied science and pure science, has
been accomplished and recorded, there
is still a practically limitless field ahead.
It is the duty, for the advancement of
the art, for each company to bear the
burden of its share of research work.
At present this must of necessity be
confined to the realm of applied science,
leaving investigations in pure science to
governmental agencies, such as the
Laboratory Staff of the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
and the staffs of the Universities, which
have aeronautical courses and laboratories. This duty is being realized
more and more, and it is believed that
companies will automatically equip
themselves, both with laboratories and
personnel, as the growth of the industry
permits.
DESIGN PROCEDURE

The general function of an Airplane


Engineering Department is to develop
designs and produce drawings by means
of which can be constructed airplanes
which are structurally sound; aerodynamically stable and manoeuverable; which possess the specific qualities
and characteristics originally specified;
and which are so designed as to be
susceptible of construction at a profit in
competition with the product of other
concerns. To attain this end, it is
necessary to properly coordinate the
work of the engineers who control
different phases of the design, as above
described. This co6rdination is, in
practice, attained by establishing a
definite design procedure which permits
each expert to approve the design, at
the proper stage of development, and
for the features coming under his

This content downloaded from 104.194.102.249 on Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:48:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING

cognizance. The procedure believed


best adapted for this purpose is the
following:
1. A discussion by the experts, in conference, of the design elements laid down
in the specification requirements, with
an agreement reached on the general
type of design to be followed.
2. The development and approval of a
general arrangement drawing; descriptive specifications; weight, balance
and performance estimates; characteristics sheets; and wind tunnel tests.
3. The development and approval of structural and assembly arrangement drawings; stress analyses, strength tests and
weight calculations.
4. Production of detail construction drawings.
5. Construction, with engineering control
of inspection and weight and design
changes.
6. The superintendence of final weighing of
the finished airplane and of flight tests.
CONCLUSION

In the preceding pages, an attempt


has been made to trace the development of aviation in terms of progress in

the scientific and engineering field. As

opposed to the conditions that maintained during the early stages of development, when the men interested in
aviation were either pure scientists or
inventors, it has been shown that today
the engineering phase of the art is

33

operative. With the art on a scientific


basis, the engineer can continue the
progress in an orderly fashion. It is
the job of the airplane engineering
organization to coordinate the works of
the research laboratory, the statistician
and the engineering expert in specific
phases of the design, to the end that a
reasonable and useful machine, slightly
better than anything of its class previously constructed, may come into
existence. This indicates, as previously mentioned, the most desirable
form of progress, that is through evolution as distinguished from the occasional occurence of more rapid advance
(not always lasting) brought about, to
use a political term, through revolution. Granting that attainment of
more rapid means of transportation of
both men and goods is a measure of
general progress and prosperity, certainly the benefits to mankind which
can be envisioned from aviation are
vast and almost limitless. The progress now being made in airplane engineering is extremely gratifying to those
deeply interested in its development,
and the fact that it now appears to be
on a sound basis of organization, comparable with engineering in other
branches of the automotive industry,
bodes well for the future advance of
the art.

This content downloaded from 104.194.102.249 on Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:48:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

You might also like