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Common Questions and Answers (view source)
Revision as of 01:05, 14 March 2022
, 01:05, 14 March 2022→Why do some aircraft have folding wings?: Add Footnote with Reference
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Folding wings are found almost exclusively on naval aircraft. There is a limited amount of space onboard an aircraft carrier, so folding wings allow multiple aircraft to fit in the space that a single non-folding wing design would take up.{{efn|In the prewar era, the U.S. Navy experimented with another concept for increasing aircraft capacity aboard carriers: suspending them from the hangar deck ceiling. However, this idea was eventually dropped, as it was discovered that in the event of damage to the carrier, the hanging aircraft could fall. In addition, if they caught fire, they were difficult to extinguish.}} | Folding wings are found almost exclusively on naval aircraft. There is a limited amount of space onboard an aircraft carrier, so folding wings allow multiple aircraft to fit in the space that a single non-folding wing design would take up.{{efn|In the prewar era, the U.S. Navy experimented with another concept for increasing aircraft capacity aboard carriers: suspending them from the hangar deck ceiling. However, this idea was eventually dropped, as it was discovered that in the event of damage to the carrier, the hanging aircraft could fall. In addition, if they caught fire, they were difficult to extinguish.}} | ||
However, parked footprint is not the only consideration as there are other size constraints on the ship. For example, aircraft must also be able to fit on the elevators that move them between the hangar and flight decks. This is why aircraft like the Mitsubishi A6M have folding wingtips: a feature which is not particularly useful for increasing aircraft capacity due to the small amount – only 20 inches – of wingspan reduction. | However, parked footprint is not the only consideration as there are other size constraints on the ship. For example, aircraft must also be able to fit on the elevators that move them between the hangar and flight decks. This is why aircraft like the Mitsubishi A6M have folding wingtips: a feature which is not particularly useful for increasing aircraft capacity due to the small amount – only 20 inches – of wingspan reduction.{{efn|A wing folding mechanism is both heavy, takes up a significant amount of space in the wing, may preclude the inclusion of fuel tanks in the outboard wing, makes connections to the wingtip more difficult, and increases complexity. These were all characteristics that ran counter to the design philosophy of the A6M and a later version of the aircraft, the A6M3, temporarily did away with them entirely by simply shortening the wing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mikesh |first1=Robert C. |title=The Great Book of World War II Airplanes |date=1984 |publisher=Bonanza Books |location=New York |page=607 |chapter=Zero Fighter}}</ref>}} | ||
=== What kind of armor did World War II airplanes have? === | === What kind of armor did World War II airplanes have? === | ||