Applied aeronautics; the airplane - Beeldbibliotheek

RIGGING 51at the eoinineueeiuoiil of a flij;lit, aud it assists soiiicw hat in briii^iiii^- themachine to a stop without going too far after aligliting. The sides of thewheels are covered with linen cloth discs to decrease air resistance.Not all landing gears are like the one described, but this may betaken as standard practice. Some are provided with a skid or a singlewheel projecting ahead of and above the main wheels for the purpose ofpreventing the machine from taking a header or nosing into the groundon landing, in case it strikes the ground at too sharp an angle. Otherminor details of construction will be noted, too, on different types ofnmchines, particularly in the construction of the shock absorbers.The tail skid is a skid or arm projecting below the fuselage near- itsrear end. The purpose of the tail skid is twofold; first, to support therear end of the airplane when on the ground or in landing and preventdamage to the rudder and elevators and their controls, and secondly, toact as a drag or brake to assist in bringing the machine to a stop whenlanding. The tail skid is frequently hinged or pivoted where it is attachedto the lower longerons and its upper end, extending above thepivotal point, fitted with rubber cords similar to those used in the shockabsorbers on the axle of the landing gear. This construction acts thesame way as the shock absorber and prevents damage to the empaunageand rear portion of the fuselage when landing.Airplanes are often fitted with wing skids which consist of smallauxiliary skids under the outer ends of each lower wing. These skidsordinarih' do not come into action and are only provided to prevent damageto the outer wings in alighting on rough ground or in case a suddenside gust of wind should tend to upset the machine when alighting orrising.Landing Gear ofSeaplanesSeaplanes and flying boats are of course fitted with entirely differenttypes of landing gear from that described. Seaplanes are fittedwith pontoons or floats suitable for arising from and alighting on thewater. Usually tliere are one or two main pontoons under the forwardsection of the fuselage, these corresponding roughly to the main landinggearof the airplane. There is also a smaller pontoon mounted under therear end of the fuselage and one under the outer end of each wing toprevent the wings dipping or the whole machine upsetting in roughwater. The flying boat is so constructed that the whole fuselage is inthe shape of a boat and the whole macliine is therefore supported ontlie fuselage when resting on the water and when alighting and risingfrom the water. The flying boat is also usually fitted with small auxiliarypontoons under the outer end of the wings to keep the machinesteady in rough water.The main members running the full length of the wing are calledthe spars. They are usually spoken of as front and rear spars. Sometimesthe front spar is called the main spar.The cross members joining the spars together are called ribs. Thereare two kinds of these, compression ribs and the web ribs. The function