Fabric Control Surfaces
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Fabric Control Surfaces
I've noticed that a lot of aircraft built in the later war years and maybe post-war when technology had made huge leaps continued to be built with fabric covered elevators and rudders. Examples that spring to mind include DC-3/C47, Hawker Tempest, Winjeel (I think). Can anyone shed some light on the reasons for me?
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I'm not entirely convinced yet - metal control surfaces seem like a logical thing to have when the rest of the plane is metal, solid & harder to damage, no more difficult or time consuming to build than fabric covered (possibly less so). To confuse me even further Aeronca were putting metal ailerons on their C-3 when the whole of the rest of the plane was fabric covered...
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.
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Fabric control surfaces are fine for low speed aircraft but tend to balloon at higher speeds, leading to aerodynmic problems. By ballooning I mean that the control surface inflates and loses its aerodynamic integrity. There is a lot of coverege of this (in easily understood laymen's terms) in Jeffrey Quill's book "Spitfire" regarding the period that Supermarine looked into the problem of trying to recover a spitfire from a high speed dive by the sheer brute strength of the pilot.
I would recommend Spitfire to anyone who wants an enjoyable and highly educational read.
I would recommend Spitfire to anyone who wants an enjoyable and highly educational read.
Safety First!
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Fabric surfaces were easier to repair after combat damage and damage to the fabric skin was less likely to risk structural failure to the rest of the airframe as in the case of aircraft such as the Spitfire where a semi-monocoque frame shared loads with the metal stressed skin. The fabric covered Hurricane for instance, was able to absorb a lot more hits from an enemy than the all metal Spitfire, especially in the case of hits by cannon shells.
As for control surfaces being fabric covered, I believe they were simple to manufacture (having skilled people and knowledge in these fields from the earlier days) and the ease of manufacture using cheap materials and construction methods outweighed the problems with purchasing and developing new metal working tools and rigs in wartime. Control surfaces made of wood and fabric were also very light and easy to balance, but as was said, did have disadvantages at high speeds.
It is interesting to note that a lot of (in particular German) aircraft were using fabric covered controls surfaces late in the war to save time in the manufacturing processes when the need for warplane numbers outweighed the need for very high quality construction.
Kermie
As for control surfaces being fabric covered, I believe they were simple to manufacture (having skilled people and knowledge in these fields from the earlier days) and the ease of manufacture using cheap materials and construction methods outweighed the problems with purchasing and developing new metal working tools and rigs in wartime. Control surfaces made of wood and fabric were also very light and easy to balance, but as was said, did have disadvantages at high speeds.
It is interesting to note that a lot of (in particular German) aircraft were using fabric covered controls surfaces late in the war to save time in the manufacturing processes when the need for warplane numbers outweighed the need for very high quality construction.
Kermie
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One of the early Hawker carrier fighters had fabric control surfaces. I got a look at it when she came aboard the Old WASP.
It was a baby carriage to fly, according to the pilot.
It was a baby carriage to fly, according to the pilot.
