AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE

Topic 2.2
Airframe - Wings

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 INTRODUCTION
On completion of this topic you should be able to:

2.2.1 Describe the construction of wings.

2.2.2 Describe construction of fuel storage tanks in wings.

2.2.3 Describe wing attachment methods for the following:

Landing gear
Pylons
Control surfaces
High lift/drag devices

Note : Wing attachment methods for:

Landing Gear was covered in Topic 2.1,
Pylons will be covered in Topic 2.5,
Control surfaces will be covered in Topic 2.4 and
High lift/drag devices will be covered in Topic 2.4

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 WINGS
There are 2 main configurations of wing attachment for fixed wing aircraft.

Cantilever wing:
Wings are attached
to a strong centre
section without any
external bracing.
This type of
configuration has
little scope for
angle adjustment.

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 WINGS
Strut-braced wings:

Wing attachment at centre section is not as robust. This is compensated by the use of
wing to fuselage struts for support.

This configuration has provisions for adjusting dihedral and incidence angles.

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 WINGS
Eccentric bolts for adjusting
incidence on high wing
aircraft.

On low-wing aircraft,
several bolts and high
strength dowels are used
to attach wing spars to the
centre section.

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 WINGS
As with fuselage constructions, wings have evolved from truss to formed skin
construction.

Semi-monocoque construction is used.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION
The internal structure of
wings :

• spars and stringers

running spanwise and
ribs running chordwise;

• fabric, plywood or
sheet metal skins.

• leading edges
manufactured from metal
or composites.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION
Spars:

• principle structural
members of wings;

• can be made of wood,

metal or composite material

• take all, or a majority of, the

bending loads of the wing

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

Ribs may be pressed

from sheet alloy in a
hydropress, built up of
sheet metal channels
or machined out of a
solid slab of material.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

Ribs may be pressed from sheet

alloy in a hydropress, built up of
sheet metal channels or
machined out of a solid slap of
material.

Examples of leading edge ribs

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 WING CONSTRUCTION
Stringers

Extruded section Formed section Extruded and formed section

Extruded and formed section Formed section Machined section

Examples of typical wing stringer cross sections.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION
Lower wing skin showing stringer installation

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 WING CONSTRUCTION
Typical wing construction with:

front and rear spar.

number and location of ribs.

Number, location and lengths

of stringers.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

• wings with one spar

are termed ‘monospar’;

• most aircraft have two

or more spars –
‘multispar’;

• ribs are shaped to

give the wings
cambered profile.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

Many aircraft utilise the

forward and rear spar for
undercarriage trunnion
attachment.

Some aircraft have a false spar

fitted for trunnion attachment.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

Wires and tie-rods can also be found in some

wing structures, giving added strength and
rigidity.
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 WING CONSTRUCTION

A340 Structure

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

• loads on the wing skins are transmitted to

the spars via the ribs.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION
As aircraft speeds and weight increased it became necessary to add more
strength to the wing skins.

This was achieved by machining thick slabs of aluminium down to skin thickness,
leaving enough material in the proper places to provide the desired strength and
stiffness.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION
This is an example of machining a thick slabs of aluminium down to shape
for wing construction.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

To gain max. stiffness for weight the modern military and commercial aircraft
manufacturers include composite materials in the construction of wing components.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION
One of the more recent wing design developments is the fitment of WINGLETS.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

737NG Winglet

Smaller aircraft winglets are mainly hollow composite fibre construction.

Larger aircraft have a combination of composite and metal skins and internal structure.
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 WING CONSTRUCTION
When aircraft are flying, its wings have a tendency to flex upwards.
Compression stress in upper skin
Tension stress in lower skin
Torsion stress on wing attachment points.

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 WING CONSTRUCTION

The first Airbus A380 wing

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 FUEL STORAGE
Location, size, shape and construction
of fuel tanks vary with the type and
intended use of the aircraft.

Most have baffles fitted to resist fuel

surging during flight.

Three basic tank types:

• Rigid

• Flexible

• Integral

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 RIGID TANKS
Older aircraft have welded or
riveted sheet metal tanks -
alloy of lead and tin called
Ternaplate.

Solder is used to seal seams

Must be supported in the

aircraft structure with hold
down straps.

Must be padded to prevent

chafing.

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 RIGID TANKS

Modern rigid tanks are

generally made of sheet alloy
or stainless steel, either
welded or riveted.

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 INTEGRAL TANKS
Newer aircraft use
integral tanks because
of the large weight
saving from rigid
tanks.

This is allowed by the

availability of fuel
resistant sealants
which are used to seal
part of the aircraft
structure during
assembly.

Integral wing tanks are also known as wet wings.

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 INTEGRAL TANKS

On military aircraft

integral tanks also save

on space as they use
the maximum amount
of fuel storage
available like the
leading edge of this
wing.

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 INTEGRAL TANKS
Centre
Tank Integral
Wing fuel tanks
L/H and R/H

Typical integral fuel tank construction of modern

aircraft
(this picture shows an Airbus A340-600 aircraft wit
total fuel capacity of 195 000 Litres)
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 INTEGRAL TANKS

Tail trimming
Fuel Tank

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 INTEGRAL TANKS
Fuel capacity example of the Airbus A340-600

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 INTEGRAL TANKS

Inside an integral
tank shows sealing
compound on
seams.

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 BLADDER TANK
A bladder fuel cell is a
reinforced rubberized bag
placed in a non fuel-tight
compartment.

Designed to structurally
carry the weight of the
fuel.

It is an excellent substitute
for a rigid tank.

Like the integral tank, it

also makes a weight saving
from rigid tanks.

They are either held in

place by clips or laced to
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 CONCLUSION
Now that you have completed this topic, you should be able to:

2.2.1 Describe the construction of wings.

2.2.2 Describe construction of fuel storage tanks in wings.

2.2.3 Describe wing attachment methods for the following:

Landing gear
Pylons
Control surfaces
High lift/drag devices

Note : Wing attachment methods for:

Landing Gear was covered in Topic 2.1,
Pylons will be covered in Topic 2.5,
Control surfaces will be covered in Topic 2.4 and
High lift/drag devices will be covered in Topic 2.4.

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This concludes Topic 2.2
Airframe - Wings

Your next topic is Topic 2.3

Airframe - Stabilisers

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