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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0230.PDF
MARCH 29, 1926 to take up all-metal, and more particularly all-steel, con- struction of aircraft, and a visit to the works at Norwich very soon reveals the fact that a very high degree of perfection has been attained, not only in the design of metal members but also, and which is, perhaps, even more important because it is a good deal more difficult, in rapid and relatively cheap manufacturing processes. Concerning the latter, but little can be said in the present article, in which we must confine ourselves to the finished results rather than go into details concerning the manner in which these results were obtained. Earlier forms of Boulton and Paul metal fuselage construc- tion have been described and illustrated in FLIGHT from time Having evolved an eminently satisfactory type of tube for longerons and struts, standardised in a certain number of sizes, the next step was to design a neat type of fitting for the attachment of struts to longerons. How the problem was ultimately solved is indicated in some of our sketches. A tubular " pad " of magnesium alloy, fitting snugly over the tubular longeron, and with flat faces machined on the outside, gave the solution. Bolts pass through " pad " and longeron vertically and horizontally (being, of course, slightly staggered in relation to each other), the strut ends being attached to the bolt heads and the bracing wires to sheet steel links or wiring plates in the manner shown. The bolts themselves are of [" FLIGHT " Copyright Sktiches THE BOULTON & PAUL " SIDESTRAND I " : 1, The engine mountings for the Bristol " Jupiter " are designedto avoid getting torque reaction loads as bending moments on the wing spars. A typical fuselage joint is illustrated in 3, and dissected in 4. Note particularly the locked-joint tube longeron and the magnesium alloy pad with flatfaces for the fittings. A slightly different fuselage joint is shown in 2. to time, but with the present form something like finality has been attained, since certain sizes have been standardised. The basis of the* new form of fuselage construction is the locked-joint circular tube, which is a relatively recent product of the firm. This type of tube is made from strip, by a special process of rolling and drawing, and the accuracy obtained is really remarkable. Not only does the tube leave the draw bench " as straight as a die," but the locked-joint seam itself is perfectly uniform and straight, i.e., there is no twist in the tube. This is important because of the attachment of fittings, for which it is desirable to know exactly where the seam is going to come, and that it will be in the same place at all fittings. Duralumin, and bushes are interposed between them and the walls of the longerons to increase the bearing area. The arrangement will be clear from our sketches. By the employ- ment of magnesium alloy " pads" and Duralumin bolts, the weight of the fuselage fittings is kept down to a very low figure, while certainly the locked-joint tubes, of high-grade steel, are lighter than any drawn tube could be. The result is a structurally very economical construction. We regret that we have no figures relating to the bare structure weight of the " Sidestrand " but knowing the amount of equipment carried, and the difference between tare weight and gross weight, it is fairly obvious that the aircraft structure must be a rery low percentage. 210
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