GB344621A - An improved arrangement and construction of aeroplane - Google Patents

Abstract

344,621. Aeroplanes. MARTIN, J., Martin's Aircraft Works, Higher Denham, Buckinghamshire, and PITT, P. W., 148, Leadenhall Street, London. Sept. 19, 1929, No. 28457. [Class 4.] Fuselages; propelling.-In a tractor aeroplane in which the pilot's and other seats in the fuselage are in advance of the engine or engines, the seats are arranged in one or more pairs behind the propeller or propellers, the seats of each pair being disposed one on either side of the fuselage centre line. Fig. 2 shows an aeroplane having seats 2, 3 separated by a bulkhead 10 from an engine 1 which drives an airscrew 5 through a tubular shaft 6 passing between or beneath the seats. Engine 1 is surrounded by a cowl 12 having an inlet 13 and a rearwardly directed tapering outlet 14 through which the exhaust pipes may be passed. In the case of an air-cooled engine a fan is mounted in a casing 16 and driven from the engine, air being taken from scoops or openings beneath the rear end of the seating portion. Alternatively an inverted engine may be used, Fig. 4, having the cylinders projecting beneath the fuselage. The airscrew shaft is carried by a self-centring bearing housed in the fuselage nose 4 and flexible joints may be provided in shaft 6. In one form, Fig. 4, shaft 6 is enclosed in a casing 7 and is connected at one end to the engine shaft by a coupling 8 and at the other to a shaft 9 carrying the airscrew hub. The bulkhead 10 may form an engine mounting when a rotary or radial type engine is employed. When outboard engines are used, Fig. 5, the propeller shafts are carried in brackets 21, offset from the fuselage nose with or without additional supports 22. A radiator or radiators may be arranged along the sides of, or beneath, the fuselage ; in the former case a fan or blower driven from the engine is provided for the radiator. If air-cooled engines are fitted their cylinders may project above or below the planes. In all the above arrangements the fuselage nose is so shaped as to give an aerofoil contour to the fuselage.