SAWE Report - Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

The layout of Vendetta’s inlets and landing gear allow for a continuous structural member, in the
form of a bulkhead, to carry the aerodynamic loads from each wing directly to the central keel.
This ideology breaks down as the bulkheads move away from the main wing load paths. The
weapons bay splits the forward wing attachment bulkheads. This occurs only well in front of the
aerodynamic center of the wing. Just forward of the aerodynamic center is the main forward
load path for the wing. The aft load paths are a ring structure around the engines and inlets. The
Important thing to note is that where the primary loads are being distributed, between 25 to 50
percent of the mean aerodynamic chord, the bulkheads are continuous.
It is also important to note that the landing gear attaches to a bulkhead just forward of the aft
closure to the weapons bay. This is important because it locates the airborne and ground laden
load paths on top of each other. This allows for some redundancy in the structure and allows for
a lighter aircraft. Another redundant feature is the aft main load path. This bulkhead acts as the
main forward engine attachment point. Again this allows for a minimum of large structural
bulkheads and thus creates a lighter aircraft. The wing attachment points are shown in Figure
7.2.
The empennage structure follows the same methodology as the wing attachment structure. The
vertical tails attach to the aft primary carry through of the wing. The aft vertical attach point is
the same as the primary load path for the horizontal tails. The horizontal tail is an area of
concern for the Vendetta. The horizontal surfaces are capable of producing tremendous forces on
the aircraft. The horizontal surfaces are full flying and thus must attach at a single point in the
aircrafts structure. This bulkhead is a ring carry through type that distributes the load from the
pivot point to the central keel. Two secondary bulkheads back up this main bulkhead. The
empennage structure is shown in Figure 7.3.
Aft Primary
Bulkhead & Main
Engine Attachment
Forward Secondary
Bulkheads
Forward Primary
Bulkhead
Aft Secondary
Bulkheads
Main Gear
Attachment
Figure 7.2 - Wing Attachment Detail
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