[Fig. 81] indicates the arrangement on the German L.V.G. (Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft) fighting biplane. This is an aluminium alloy casting, fastened to the longeron by screws, and as it is not affected by the taper of the longeron, all the fittings, or at any rate, those in the tail portion, can be of the same dimensions. A point which is often overlooked when using a fitting of this type is that any strain on the wires is transmitted to the longeron by the fastening screws only, or, in other words, the tendency of the wires when tensioned to pull the fitting from the longeron is resisted by the screws only. This does not impress one as being well suited to perform the functions demanded of the average joint, and about the only detail upon which its existence is justified is its ease of production. In the writer’s opinion the clip, [Fig. 82], is by far the finest connection yet devised, and one that should be standardized. Its attachment is accomplished without objectionable drilling; it provides an excellent housing for the cross-struts; can be tightened up should shrinkage occur in the longerons; and can be produced at an absurdly low figure. This clip has been used on machines which have accomplished some meteoric performances during the war, and, moreover, was designed and in use a considerable period before the war.
Fig. 82.—Fuselage fitting.
Fig. 83.—Fuselage fitting.
The clip, [Fig. 83], is simple and quite easily manufactured, being stamped out of sheet metal, and bent up to shape. The lugs forming the anchorage for the wires would have a tendency to straighten out at the bends; but the amount of this, whether serious or otherwise, in the absence of actual experience, is largely conjectural. However, a fitting of this kind was used in the construction of the nacelle of a seaplane exhibited at Olympia in 1914.
Steel Tube Fuselage Construction.
WELDED WIRES 18 BWC
Fig. 84.—Welded joint in steel tube fuselage.