lawman56 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I usually pride myself on paying attention to detail, however I have a habit of being humbled once in awhile. Which is good, since it keeps my head from becoming "Zepplin-like". While admiring all the great Eindeckers since the build started, I just now realized I see no flaps! No flaps, no ailerons, no elevators. Not even a trim tab! What I did notice, is an interesting looking curve to the wing, an odd place to locate a pulley, and what appears to be a major pivot point where the wing would normally be attached to the fuselage. Am I correct in assuming that the wings themselves were the control surfaces? That by moving the stick, the commands would travel via wire, through that oddly located pulley, and pitching the entire wing into the proper degree of inclination or declination? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Red Baron Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Eindeckers were 'wing warpers' - where as most of the rigging was used to brace the wing in position, said pulley allowed the upper outer wire to move from side-to-side whilst maintaining tension as the lower wires were pulled or released by the yoke mounted at the back of the undercarriage. It worked, but not particularly well, which is why the concept was abandoned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman56 Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Fascinating. I thought, but didn't want to say 'wing warper' because I wasn't sure. The fact that anybody would conceive of such an idea is mind-numbing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Red Baron Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 It was inspired by birds - that's pretty much how they turn in a glide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoonattack Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Yep, emulating the way birds use their wings and tail inspired many early aircraft designers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoonattack Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 WNW also captured the battens (for lack of a better word), that capped the ribs, with a subtlety that is truly astonoshing for an injection molded kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman56 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 After posing this question yesterday, I took the time today to read up some on the 'wing warping' concept. I didn't realize that Anthony Fokker was somewhat behind the curve in this design. Apparently it was the "norm" when it came to aircraft design. Interesting what you can learn from admiring models! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoonattack Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Even perhaps more interesting is that ailerons, rudders and elevators are all derivations of the original bird concept of articulating surfaces to affect directional change. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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