Fuselage

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Fuselage of a Boeing 737 shown in brown

The fuselage (/ˈfjuːzəlɑːʒ/; from the French fuselé "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's

main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it
will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine
is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull.
The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific
relationships to lifting surfaces, required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.

Contents

[hide]

 1 Types of structures
o 1.1 Truss structure
o 1.2 Geodesic construction
o 1.3 Monocoque shell
o 1.4 Semi-monocoque
 2 Materials
 3 Wing integration
 4 Gallery
  5 See also
 6 References
 7 External links

Types of structures[edit]

Piper PA-18 welded tube truss fuselage structure

Truss structure[edit]

Main article: Truss

This type of structure is still in use in many lightweight aircraft using welded steel
tube trusses. A box truss fuselage structure can also be built out of wood—often
covered with plywood. Simple box structures may be rounded by the addition of
supported lightweight stringers, allowing the fabric covering to form a more
aerodynamic shape, or one more pleasing to the eye.

Geodesic construction[edit]

Main article: Geodesic airframe

Geodesic airframe fuselage structure is exposed by battle damage

Geodesic structural elements were used by Barnes Wallis for British Vickers between
the wars and into World War II to form the whole of the fuselage, including its
aerodynamic shape. In this type of construction multiple flat strip stringers are wound
about the formers in opposite spiral directions, forming a basket-like appearance. This
proved to be light, strong, and rigid and had the advantage of being made almost
entirely of wood. A similar construction using aluminum alloy was used in the
Vickers Warwick with less materials than would be required for other structural types.
The geodesic structure is also redundant and so can survive localized damage without
catastrophic failure. A fabric covering over the structure completed the aerodynamic
shell (see the Vickers Wellington for an example of a large warplane which uses this
process). The logical evolution of this is the creation of fuselages using molded
plywood, in which multiple sheets are laid with the grain in differing directions to
give the monocoque type below.

Monocoque shell[edit]

The Van's Aircraft RV-7 of semi-monocoque construction.

In this method, the exterior surface of the fuselage is also the primary structure. A
typical early form of this (see the Lockheed Vega) was built using molded plywood,
where the layers of plywood are formed over a "plug" or within a mold. A later form
of this structure uses fiberglass cloth impregnated with polyester or epoxy resin,
instead of plywood, as the skin. A simple form of this used in some amateur-built
aircraft uses rigid expanded foam plastic as the core, with a fiberglass covering,
eliminating the necessity of fabricating molds, but requiring more effort in finishing
(see the Rutan VariEze). An example of a larger molded plywood aircraft is the de
Havilland Mosquito fighter/light bomber of World War II. No plywood-skin fuselage
is truly monocoque, since stiffening elements are incorporated into the structure to
carry concentrated loads that would otherwise buckle the thin skin. The use of molded
fiberglass using negative ("female") molds (which give a nearly finished product) is
prevalent in the series production of many modern sailplanes. The use of molded
composites for fuselage structures is being extended to large passenger aircraft such
as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (using pressure-molding on female molds).

Semi-monocoque[edit]

Sectioned fuselage showing frames, stringers and skin all made of aluminium

This is the preferred method of constructing an all-aluminum fuselage. First, a series

of frames in the shape of the fuselage cross sections are held in position on a rigid
fixture. These frames are then joined with lightweight longitudinal elements called
stringers. These are in turn covered with a skin of sheet aluminum, attached by
riveting or by bonding with special adhesives. The fixture is then disassembled and
removed from the completed fuselage shell, which is then fitted out with wiring,
controls, and interior equipment such as seats and luggage bins. Most modern large
aircraft are built using this technique, but use several large sections constructed in this
fashion which are then joined with fasteners to form the complete fuselage. As the
accuracy of the final product is determined largely by the costly fixture, this form is
suitable for series production, where a large number of identical aircraft are to be
produced. Early examples of this type include the Douglas Aircraft DC-2 and DC-3
civil aircraft and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Most metal light aircraft are
constructed using this process.

Both monocoque and semi-monocoque are referred to as "stressed skin" structures as

all or a portion of the external load (i.e. from wings and empennage, and from discrete
masses such as the engine) is taken by the surface covering. In addition, all the load
from internal pressurization is carried (as skin tension) by the external skin.

The proportioning of loads between the components is a design choice dictated

largely by the dimensions, strength, and elasticity of the components available for
construction and whether or not a design is intended to be "self jigging", not requiring
a complete fixture for alignment.
Materials[edit]

Early aircraft were constructed of wood frames covered in fabric. As monoplanes

became popular, metal frames improved the strength, which eventually led to all-
metal aircraft with metal covering all surfaces. Some modern aircraft are constructed
with composite materials for major control surfaces, wings, or the entire fuselage such
as the Boeing 787. On the 787, it makes possible higher pressurization levels and
larger windows for passenger comfort as well as lower weight to reduce operating
costs. The Boeing 787 weighs 1500 lb less than if it were an all-aluminum
assembly.[citation needed]

Wing integration[edit]

"Flying wing" aircraft, such as the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing and the Northrop B-
2 Spirit bomber have no separate fuselage; instead what would be the fuselage is a
thickened portion of the wing structure.

Conversely there have been a small number of aircraft designs which have no separate
wing, but use the fuselage to generate lift. Examples include National Aeronautics and
Space Administration's experimental lifting body designs and the Vought XF5U-1
Flying Flapjack.

A blended wing body can be considered a mixture of the above. It carries the useful
load in a fuselage producing lift. A modern example is Boeing X-48. One of the
earliest aircraft using this design approach is Burnelli CBY-3, which fuselage was
airfoil shaped to produce lift.