WW II Hellcat & Fabric Covered Stab. Why ?
In article ,
John Szalay john.szalayatatt.net wrote:
Bob wrote in :
Hello,
Saw a video on the WW II Hellcat, and on the walk-around it was
mentioned that the Stab. was fabric covered.
Not sure if anything else was.
Really surprised.
Why did they use fabric on the Stab. ?
Was fabric covered surfaces "common" on US WW II fighters ?
Why ?
Thanks,'Bob
fighters, transports , also on Bombers,
Short answer...
before the days of hydraulic assisted surfaces, it took
a great deal of strength to move those surfaces.
fabric covered made the work a little easier.
(my aunt was a seamtress prior to the war, and during the war she
sewed fabric for Grumman)
The stab and fin were usually metal (or wood), while the control
surfaces were fabric-covered, which made for lightweight structures
(easier to mass-balance, to counteract flutter). Even the P-51 had a
fabric-covered rudder; the B-29 had all control surfaces fabric-covered.
Early models of the Corsair had fabric-covered outer wing panels ans
wooden-framed, fabric-covered ailerons.
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