UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF

AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
I. Evolution of Airr!ft Strutur"
- So many people dream of flying.
- From Daedalus to the Wright Brothers
- Until now many types of plane roars our sky. From the big 747 to the smallest ultralight plane.
- an has fulfill their dreams
- !he in"rease knowledge of flight and e#perien"e has bring to the building a strong$ lightweight
plane.
- !o minimi%e wind resistan"e and strength pro&ided by the truss stru"ture$ the designers atta"hed a
super stru"ture of wooden formers and stringers o&er the truss to gi&e the angular form a smooth
streamlined shape.
- a'or breakthrough$ during WW($ welded thin wall steel tubing was first used for fuselage truss.
- !hen stru"tural de&elopment "ame with the dis"o&ery of a form of "onstru"tion without the truss but
had a streamlined form that had pre&iously furnished by the superstru"ture. )nown as stressed skin
superstru"ture.
- !he *o"kheed "ompany populari%es this type of "onstru"tion on the +ega models. !hin sheets of
wood &eneer were held under heat and pressure in large "on"rete mold and formed into a plywood
eggshell-like stru"ture.
- *aminated wood rings were built into this shell for support at "riti"al spots. ,tta"hment points for the
engine$ the wing$ the tail and landing gear.
- !hin aluminum alloy sheets were ne#t used for the skin of stressed skin air"raft stru"ture.
- !his sheets are formed with their "ompound "ur&es either in hydropresses or by drop hammers.
- !he formed skins are then ri&eted onto thin sheet metal formers and ribs.
- ono"o-ue stru"ture has no internal frame work
- odern air"raft uses semi-mono"o-ue in whi"h an internal arrangement of formers and stringers is
used to pro&ide additional rigidity and strength to the skin.
II. T#$"% of !irr!ft %trutur"
A. Strutur"% T&!t Pro'u" Lift
(. T&" Airfoil S"tion
- ,erodynami" lift. , for"e produ"ed by air mo&ing o&er a spe"ially shaped surfa"e
"alled an airfoil. /t is an a"tion that is perpendi"ular to the dire"tion
- !he airfoil has more "ur&ature on the top rather than the bottom. Use an assymetri"al
airfoil
- !he airfoil for a supersoni" air"raft usually a symmetri"al airfoil$ whi"h is both the
top and bottom "ur&ature$ is the same.
- For lift to produ"e there must be an angle between the "hord of the wing to the
relati&e wind. !his is "alled angle of atta"k.
- ,s air passes below the airfoil$ it is defle"ted downward and slowed down slightly.
- !his will produ"e a differential lift$ where the pressure at the upper wing is de"reased.
- !he air abo&e the surfa"e will be pulled down into this low pressure0 as a result$ air is
for"ed down as the airfoil mo&es through it. !his is "alled downwash$ whi"h
produ"es lift.
- /n 1hysi"s$ for an air"raft to fly$ the lift must be greater than the weight of the air"raft
and the ,o, must be high.
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UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- But this is not always true$ as the "riti"al angle of atta"k is a"hie&ed$ the air will break
away that "auses the air to stall.
- !he airflow o&er the leading edge of an airfoil is "riti"al.
- Usually the flush ri&ets are used on some all metal wings in the areas where the
airflow must be smooth to produ"e the ma#imum pressure drop.
- 1rotruding head ri&ets are used in the rest of the wing for e"onomy "onstru"tion.
). Tr!n%*ittin+ t&" Lift into t&" Strutur"
- !he defle"tion of the wind produ"es the lift$ and this lift must be e-ually transmitted
to the air"raft.
- ,nd the stru"ture "an support all loads without damaging the wind defle"tion.
- !he wing is mounted on the airplane in a lo"ation that pla"es "enter of lift$ where lift
is "on"entrated. /t is slightly behind the "enter of gra&ity.
- So as the air"raft maneu&er$ the torsion and bending will be imposed on the wing.
- !he wing spar whi"h are the main spanwise members of the stru"ture$ are designed to
"arry these bending loads.
,. Tru%%-T#$" .in+ Con%trution
- Usually found in a fabri" "o&ered air"raft
- ain stru"ture is the spars goes lengthwise
- Wood spars are made from Sitka Spru"e either solid or laminated.
- Usually use laminated wood$ to get a near perfe"t wood.
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Solid Wood *aminated Wood
Built-up wood bo#
spar
Built-up wood
/- Beam
3#truded ,luminum ,lloy
Built-up metal /-
Beam
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- /t is a strip of wood glue together and the strength is almost the same as the solid
spars e#"ept less e#pensi&e.
- !he spars are separated by "ompression members or "ompression struts that may be
either steel tubing or hea&y-wall aluminum alloy tubing.
- 4ompression ribs are designed to spe"ially to take "ompressi&e loads.
- !he truss is held together with high strength solid steel wires that "ross the bays
formed by the "ompression struts.
- Drag wire$ is a wire that e#tend from spar inboard to the rear spar outboard oppose the
for"es that tends to drag against the wing and pull it ba"kwards.
- ,nti-drag wire is a wire that atta"hed to the rear spar inboard and goes to the front
spar outboard$ to oppose any for"e that tends to mo&e the tip of the wing forward.
- ,ll these "riteria pro&ides lightweight.
- During WW($ a bo# spar "onstru"tion is used.
- /t is a"tually a bo# stru"ture built between the spars stiffens the spars so they "an
"arry all of the bending and torsional loads to whi"h the wing is sub'e"ted in flight.
- !he former ribs will gi&e the wing aerodynami" shape it needs to produ"e lift when
air flows o&er its fabri" "o&ering.

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, built up bo# spar a""epts torsional as well as
bending loads.
, built up wing rib made of wood
Front Spar
6ear Spar
,nti Drag Wire
Drag Wire
4ompression
Strut
Sheet etal *eading 3dge
!ip Bow
.in+ on%trution u%in+ /oo'
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- !he strips that form the top and bottom of the rib are "alled "ap strips$ and those
between the "ap strips are "alled "ross members.
- !he end-grain glue 'oint ha&e &ery little strength ea"h interse"tion of a "ap strip and a
"ross members has a gusset of thin mahogany plywood glued to the strips of wood to
"arry the stresses from one strip to the other.
- etal wing ribs may be either built up by ri&eting together "ap strips and "ross
members made of formed$ thin sheet aluminum alloy$ or may be pressed from
aluminum alloy sheets in a hydropress.
- !he most "riti"al part of the wing is the leading edge$ be"ause it will determine the
flow of the wind.
0. Str"%%"'-%1in .in+ Con%trution
- Semi-mono"o-ue "onstru"tion is generally used for the main portion of the wing$
while simple mono"o-ue form is often used for "ontrol surfa"e.
- ,d&antage of all metal wings is it "an built to "arry all the flight loads within the
stru"ture so it does not need any e#ternal struts or bra"es.
- Su"h an internally bra"ed wing is "alled a "antile&er wing.
- Su""essfully used in D4-2 air"raft. 7as a strong wing due to thi"kness at the "enter
se"tion that built into the fuselage.
- 7as a multi spar "onstru"tion in whi"h se&eral spars "arry the flight loads$ and span
wise stiffeners run between the spars to pro&ide e&en greater strength.
- /n the new era of airplane$ a thi"k aluminum slab is used to pro&ide stiffness and
strength.
- !wo ma'or impro&ements o&er "on&entional method of ma"hining wing skins.
a8 4hemi"al milling
- ,n a"id-resisting "oating is treated on the aluminum alloy where the full
thi"kness of thi"kness of the material is needed.
- !he slab is then immersed in a &at of a"id and the aluminum that is not needed
is eaten away.
- 9ood for remo&ing large amounts of material$
b8 3le"tro"hemi"al ma"hining.
- Used to ma"hine deep groo&es or "omple# shapes.
- !he skin is immersed in a salty ele"trolyte$ and an ele"trode "utting tool of
soft "opper$ "arrying a large amount of "urrent$ is passed near the surfa"e of
the skin.
- !his will "ause the metal is eaten away at a rapid rate without tou"hing the
material.
- ,d&antage$ there will be no marking that "an "ause stress "on"entration.
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Wing rib made of pressed sheet metal
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- 4hemi"al milling pro"ess produ"ed mu"h stronger wing skin that had a redu"ed
tenden"y to "ra"k.
- !o gain ma#imum amount of stiffness for the weight$ some air"raft ha&e wing skins
made of laminated stru"ture in whi"h thin sheets of metal are bonded to a "ore of
fiberglass$ paper or metal honey"omb material.
- Some supersoni" air"raft ha&e their outer skins made of stainless steel bra%e to "ores
of stainless steel honey"omb.
- Wing leading edges and e&en bo# spar se"tion made of bonded honey "omb material
and the inside of these stru"tures used to "arry fuel.
- !he ad&antage is for the "onstru"tion of an integral fuel tanks$ be"ause no need to seal
at all the ri&ets.
- Some of the e#tremely light wing stru"tures su"h as high performan"e sail planes and
for e#perimental airplanes$ are built using a "omposite stru"ture "onsisting of a
polystyrene foam "ore "o&ered with layers of reinfor"ing material and bonded to the
foam with a matri# of epo#y or polyester resin.
2. Strutur" t&!t Pro'u" Control
- !here are three a#es when an air"raft rotates.
(. Pit& Control
- 1it"h is the rotation of the air"raft about the lateral a#is.
- *ateral a#is is an imaginary line parallel to the span of the airplane and passes through
the "enter of gra&ity.
- !he mo&ement of pit"h is produ"ed by the ele&ator.
- !he stability of this mo&ement is known as longitudinal stability.
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7oney "omb stru"ture perform well when
"ompressi&e stress is applied
Wing skin after "hemi"al milling pro"ess
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- /t is a"hie&ed by the balan"ed hori%ontal stabili%er whi"h tends to rotate the nose up
that "ountera"ting the nose down effe"t
- !he ele&ator is "ontrolled by the "ontrol wheel. When the "ontrol wheel is pulled up$
the trailing edge of the ele&ator mo&es upward the tail pushes down and the nose up.
- When the "ontrol wheel is push down$ the trailing edge of the ele&ator mo&es down
and the tail will be pushes up$ and the nose down.
). Roll Control
- 6oll is the rotation of the air"raft about the longitudinal a#is.
- *ongitudinal a#is is an imaginary line parallel from nose to tail and passes through
the "enter of gra&ity.
- !he mo&ement of roll is produ"ed by the aileron.
- !he stability of this mo&ement is known as lateral stability.
- /t is a"hie&ed by the dihedral angle of the wing to the lateral a#is
- !he aileron is "ontrolled by the "ontrol wheel. When the "ontrol wheel is turned left.
left aileron will raise and lowering the right aileron.
- !his will "ause air defle"ted upward on the left aileron and lowering the wing$ while
the air passing o&er the right aileron is defle"ted downward$ whi"h raises the right
wing.
- When the "ontrol wheel is turned right$ the right aileron will raise$ and lowering the
left aileron.
- Sin"e in"rease in lift will in"rease the drag$ that this drag is far from the wing$ it will
yaw the airplane and pulls the nose of the airplane around toward the raised wing.
- !his "ondition is known as ad&erse yaw that "an "ause the airplane to enter an
inad&ertent spin.
- !o minimi%e ad&erse yaw$ differential aileron is used.
- !he aileron that mo&es upward tra&els further than the aileron tra&els downward.
- !his will in"rease the parasite drag on the aileron that tra&els upward thus "ompensate
the ad&erse yaw "ondition.
- Frise aileron is also use to "ompensate this ad&erse yaw "ondition.
- When the aileron mo&es down$ there is a portion of the leading edge aileron that
protrudes out from the wing.
- !his will produ"e additional parasite drag on the lowering wing and will balan"e the
indu"ed drag on the wing that is mo&ing up.
,. Y!/ Control
- ;aw is the rotation of the air"raft about the &erti"al a#is.
- +erti"al a#is is an imaginary line goes through from the top to bottom of the airplane
and passes through the "enter of gra&ity.
- !he mo&ement of yaw is produ"ed by the rudder.
- !he stability of this mo&ement is known as dire"tional stability.
- /t is a"hie&ed by the balan"ed &erti"al stabili%er whi"h will point the air"raft nose
towards the relati&e wind dire"tion$ 'ust like the weather &ane
- !he rudder is "ontrolled by the rudder pedal wheel.
- When the air"raft wants to turn to the right$ the right pedal is pressed$ and the left
pedal is release slightly and &i"e &ersa.
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UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- ,"tually air"raft is not turned by the rudder$ when it wants to turn0 the "ontrol wheel
must turn to the desired turn.
- !his will make the lift a"ting on the air"raft will be tilted$ sin"e it a"ts in line with the
&erti"al a#is of the plane.
- !his lift for"e not only supports the airplane against the for"e of gra&ity$ but also pulls
the nose around in "ur&ed flight.
- But then the ad&erse yaw takes into effe"t. !herefore to pre&ent this e&ent$ the nose of
the air"raft is pointed to the dire"tion of the desired turn by pressing the pedal.
- !his defle"ts the air to the right$ "reating a for"e that mo&es the tail to the left and the
nose of the airplane to the right.
- =n"e the turn mo&es to the desired dire"tion the pedal is released
0. Control Surf!" Con%trution
!. Surf!"% for F!3ri-Cov"r"' Air$l!n"%
- Use a simpler truss-type fabri"-"o&ered airplanes ha&e all of their tail surfa"es
made of welded thin wall steel tubing.
- !he &erti"al fin of this type airplane is built as an integral part of the fuselage$
and the rudder atta"hes to the fin with hinge pins through steel tubes welded
to both the fin and the rudder.
- !he hori%ontal stabili%er bolts to the fuselage and is held rigid with high
strength steel wires.
- !he ele&ators hinge to its trailing edge in the same way as the rudder hinges to
the &erti"al fin.
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1it"h
*ateral a#is
6oll
;aw
+erti"al a#is
*ongitudinal a#is
,ileron
6udder
3le&ator
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- !he of the fabri" air"raft is made the same as the "onstru"tion of the wing.
- !he aileron "onforms to the shape of the trailing edge of the wing.
- !he aileron leading edge is normally "o&ered with thin sheet aluminum alloy
so it will retain its shape under all flight loads.
- !he aileron is hinge a little far from the leading edge due to minimi%e the
effe"t of ad&erse yaw.
3. Surf!"% for !ll *"t!l $l!n"%
- 4ontrol surfa"e flutter is a serious problem in high speed airplanes
- !he "ontrol surfa"e must be balan"ed at all time by designing the "enter of
gra&ity does not fall behind their hinge line.
- Usually they keep their weight down espe"ially at the "ontrol surfa"e
- >owadays they use "orrugated "ontrol surfa"e to minimi%e the weight sin"e it
also has the stiffness and strength.
4. Control Confi+ur!tion
!. Ail"ron%
- e#tend from midpoint$ outward to the tip0 part of wing trailing edge.
- 6ight ? left mo&es differently. 3.g. 6ight aileron up$ *eft aileron down and
&i"e &ersa
- *arge transport air"raft has two sets of aileron.-
@ 4on&entional lo"ation
@ /nboard lo"ation
- Slow speed all four ailerons used to pro&ide lateral "ontrol
- 7igh speed only inboard fun"tioning to pro&ide lateral "ontrol.
3. S$oil"r%
- =n the top of the wing
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UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
@ Use to disrupt the airflow at top of the wing
@ 6edu"e lift
- For larger airplane$ both spoilers are used to aid the ailerons in rolling the
air"raft while flying$ or as brake to slow during landing Bknown as speed
brake8 and rollout.
- For smaller plane su"h as the sailplane$ to allow rapid des"ent while still
retaining full "ontrol. !hey will pop out from the wing.
5 S$oil"ron%
- 4ombine spoiler and aileron
- Sometimes the spoiler "an be ba"k up for the aileron if the
ailerons fail through a mi#er system. !o pro&ide roll.
. E*$"nn!+"
- !ail se"tion assembly that fun"tion to "ontrol and stability of the airplane.
- *ongitudinal stability and "ontrol are pro&ided by the hori%ontal surfa"es
- Dire"tional stability and "ontrol are pro&ided by &erti"al surfa"es.
- !he lo"ation of the hori%ontal tail surfa"e must "onsider the slipstream
propeller effe"t and the turbulen"e produ"e by the airflow o&er the wing.
- Sometimes the un"on&entional surfa"es "an be found in an air"raft su"h as
below.-
5 St!3il!tor
- =ne pie"e hori%ontal stabili%er that pi&ots up ? down from a
"entral hinge point
- 6e-uires no ele&ator
- o&ed by "ontrol wheel
5 Ru''"rv!tor
- 4ombination of rudder and ele&ator
- ount in a +-shape. 4an a"t as both rudder and ele&ator.
- o&es in the same dire"tion for pit"h "ontrol and in opposite
dire"tions for yaw "ontrol
- e.g.. Bee"h "raft Bonan%a
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,ir"raft turn left
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
5 El"von%
- 4ombine wing ? ele&ator
- o&able "ontrol surfa"es on the trailing edge of a delta-shaped
air"raft
- e.g.. 4on"orde
- ,"ts together for pit"h "ontrol$ and differentially for aileron
"ontrol
5 Fl!$"ron or Au6ili!r# Ail"ron
- 4ombines trailing edge flaps with aileron a"tion.
1g - (D
,ir"raft turn right
,ir"raft "limb
,ir"raft di&e
3le&ons
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- !he entire trailing edge is lowered to in"rease lift by in"reasing
its "amber
- ,ileron "ontrol is pro&ided by outer se"tions.
- !hese se"tions a"t 'ust like a normal aileron.
C. Strutur"% t&!t Mo'if# Lift
(. Fl!$%
- 3#tend outward from fuselage to midpoint$ to in"rease the wing "amber.
- 6ight ? left mo&es in same dire"tion
- Use when land ? as speed brake
- =perate by a swit"h or handle in the "o"kpit.
!. Tr!ilin+ E'+" Fl!$%
- !he flap is set at (D$ 2D$ 5D and 4D degrees.
- !he defle"tion of up to about 2D
D
in"reases the lift more than the drag.
- Usually this range is often use for takeoff.
- Beyond 2D
D
normally produ"es more drag than lift$ use landing to pro&ide the
steepest des"ent path for a gi&en speed.
- 4onfiguration of flap.-
5 Pl!in Fl!$
- When the flaps are lowered$ the trailing edge of the wing
mo&es down and the "amber of the wing are in"reased
- !his in"reases the downwash effe"t from the wing and
in"reases both the lift and drag.
5 S$lit Tr!ilin+ E'+"
1g - ((
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- lowering the hinged se"tion of the under surfa"e of the trailing
edge.
- /t allows the trailing edge flap in"reases drag enough to allow
the plane to ha&e mu"h steeper des"ent path.
5 Slott"' Fl!$
- , slot is formed when the flap is lower0 this will "reate high
pressure area below the wing and low pressure area abo&e the
wing.
- 7igh energy air flows through this slot and o&er the defle"ted
flap with su"h a high &elo"ity that it does not separate from the
surfa"e e&en at full flap defle"tion.
5 7ou3l" 8 Tri$l" Slott"' Fl!$%
- Flaps are lowered from the wing$ they will fold down also.
- Between the folded flaps$ there is also slot.
- !his slot a"ts as the same as the slotted flap to deli&er high
energy of air defle"ted on the top of the folded slot.
- Usually use by the large air"raft.

1g - (2
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
5 Fo/l"r Fl!$
- !o in"rease the wing surfa"e.
- When they are lowered down$ they will sti"k out -uite behind
the wing
- >ow they are repla"e by the slotted flap.
3. L"!'in+ E'+" Fl!$
- Droop leading edge flap is use to in"rease more "amber so that the wing
defle"t more air.
- )rueger flap is a hinged linkage e#tends out ahead of the leading edge.
- !his produ"es a spe"ial high-lift leading edge shape.
). Slot% !n' %l!t%
5 Slot - !o allow lift at high angle of atta"k.
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Drooped leading edge flap
)rueger-type leading edge flap
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- Flow of the air through the slot 'ust like the slotted flap prin"iple
- /t is to maintain the aileron effe"ti&eness and lateral "ontrol through the stall.
5Sl!t - ,utomati"ally e#tended and retra"ted due to "hanges in the "hanging in
aerodynami" for"e.
- When ,o, is in"reased$ the low pressure o&er the leading edge "auses the slat
to e#tend out and form a high energy air from below the wing blows ba"k
a"ross the upper surfa"e.
- ,llow the air"raft to fly at high angle of atta"k without stalling.
- Some airliners use me"hani"al power to lower the slat.
,. St!ll Stri$
- /mportant that the stall progress from the root to the tip.
- So that the aileron "an be effe"ti&e throughout the stall
- Stall strip is a triangular strip of metal on the leading edge of the wing root area.
- When ,o, is rea"hed$ the triangular stall strip will break the airflow o&er the root
se"tion$ and will stall while the airflow is still smooth o&er the aileron.
- !his will "ause turbulen"e at the wing root se"tion thus bring the nose of the air"raft
down again.
0. Vort"6 G"n"r!tor%
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Stall strip at low ,o, Stall strip at high ,o,
UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
- ,t high speed tra&el$ when the "riti"al a"h number is a"hie&ed$ a spe"ial stall "alled
sho"k-indu"ed separation o""urs on the wing.
- !his is where the airflow at surfa"e rea"hes the speed of sound and sho"k wa&e is
formed 'ust behind of the point at whi"h the air is mo&ing faster
- !his sho"kwa&e will mo&e ba"k and forth and "auses the air to separate from the
upper surfa"e of the wing. /t will "ause buffeting to the "ontrol.
- , &orte# generator is pla"e at the top of the wing to bring a high energy air to the
surfa"e of the wing to pre&ent sho"k indu"ed separation.
4. .in+l"t
- Wing tip &orti"es sa"rifi"es air"raft aerodynami" effi"ien"ies and performan"e.
- Design to benefit at "ertain speed and "ertain angle of atta"k for most 'et.
- For most turboprop air"raft to impro&e lift and redu"e drag.
- Downwash from the trailing edge of the winglet blo"ks the &orti"es.
- !he leading edges of many winglets are a"tually "anted outward 4 degrees$ but
be"ause the relati&e wind indu"ed by the wingtip$ the wingtip a"tually has a E&e
,o,.
- 1art of the lift is generated in a forward dire"tion$ adding thrust to the airplane.
- =ther has winglet "anted around (: degrees. !his is to add &erti"al lift and in"reases
the aerodynami" effi"ien"ies and "ontribute to the dihedral effe"t.
- Winglet also "an in"rease the fuel effi"ien"y at high speed and altitudes.
1g - (:
+orte# 9enerator
Winglet