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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0957.PDF
FLIGHT. 18 May 1950 613 The cockpit, framed by radio and flight-engineer's stations. SHACITL rro-M- . . . Royce Griffon engines instead of the less powerful Merlins. Although larger than that of the Lincoln, the Shackleton'•= fuselage is generally similar in construction. It is of ovoid section and of light-alloy stressed-skin construction through- out. There are five sections (nose, front centre-section, intermediate centre-section, rear centre-section and rear section), and four transport joints, the nose and front centre-section being transported as one unit. The structure has flanged channel-section formers throughout, excepting those at the fuselage joints and at other positions where reinforcement is necessary, and where specially strong formers are employed. All formers, other than those at the joints, are cut away on the outer edges to take angle-section stringers, attached by riveted brackets. Two main longerons, of extruded channel-section, carry the cross-members for the main floor and bomb beams; their lower edges are used for attaching the bomb doors. The fuselage nose section is cut away to form a parachute exit and an opening for the A.S.V. scanner, the latter being covered by a Perspex cupola. The bomb aimer's window conforms to the outline of the nose and is divided into a front, two side, and three top panels. In the top of the front centre-section is a cut-out for the cockpit, the enclosure of which departs from Lancaster and Lincoln practice in being flush with the fuselage top- line. The windscreen has a die-cast light-alloy frame, and the upper side-frames embody direct-vision windows. To obviate misting there are dry-air sandwich-type panels in the centre panes. Aft of the windscreen the enclosure has a tubular framework with Perspex glazing, except for the two aft top panels, which are metal-skinned. The enclosure incorporates two escape hatches, one at each side of the roof, and on each side of the fuselage there is a ditching exit, opening on to the upper surface of the wing. Another escape hatch is located in the top of the fuselage rear centre- section. The main entrance door is on the starboard side "»f the rear section. Access is gained by means of a ladder, attached, when required, to the bottom of the door 'frame and stowed at other times in the roof of the fuselage. The bomb doors are built up on a central prefabricated spar, the web of which, has riveted, extruded-angle-section flanges on both faces, forming an I-section fore-and-aft profile. At each end there are double ribs, braced by stiffeners of pressed channel section, with lightening holes. Between the stiffeners is a swivel pin, carried in ball-bearing housings and connecting with the fork end of the operating- jack piston rod. The intermediate, two-piece, ribs are of pressed sheet, flanged all round, and riveted to the web of the main spar and to the spars which form the door edges. The upper spar is of extruded channel section and serves as the hinge beam. It has a lip on its outer top face which remains- close to the sealing strip on the fuselage longerons when the bomb doors are closed. For the lower edge of each door a pressed channel section is used and, on the port door only, there is rubber h^arling for "ing. Detachable inserts in each door allow a Mk. 3 airborne lifeboat to be carried for air-sea rescue duties. ^The wing comprises five main sections: centre wing (integral with the fuselage intermediate centre-section); port and starboard intermediate sections; and port and starboard outer sections. Only the intermediate and outer sections have dihedral. The lightr-alloy- spar booms vary in section and are machined from rectangular-section ex- truded bar. Each spar web is made up of eight sections, the edges of which are butted together and linked by riveted joint plates. The undercarriage beams are secured to the forward face of the front spar by two bolts passing through the web, booms and attachment forks for the forward end of each engine rib. Aileron hinges are formed by lugs bolted to the rear face of the spar. The ailerons themselves are of light-alloy construction throughout, built round a spar of pressed sheet, with top and bottom flanges. Mass-balance weights are bolted alongside the leading edge, and balance discs may be fitted over bolts to establish static balance. Each inner aileron section carries a trim-tab, attached by a piano-type hinge and having an operating-arm assembly riveted to the under surface. At the inboard end of each outer aileron section is a balance tab, automatically operated by adjustable connecting rods. The split trailing-edge flaps are in three sections on each side—inboard (extending from the fuselage to the aft fairing of each inboard nacelle); outboard; and flap extension. Operation is by push-pull tubes, working in conjunction with actuating rods to give a universal-joint action. The two-spar tailplane carries a fin-and-rudder assembly at each extremity and is constructed in two halves, bolted together inside the fuselage, and attached by bolts. Each half of the elevator has a trimming tab and a balance tab, and each rudder has its own trim-tab. A tailwheel undercarriage was retained to secure maxi- mum utilization of the space available in the nose for obser- vation panels and service equipment, and also to obviate encroachment on the bomb-stowage space. The under- carriage comprises two rearward-retracting main-wheel units, one under each inboard engine nacelle, and a fully- White Shackletons take shape in the foreground. Lancasters for Coastal Command are undergoing reconditioning behind them.
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