Cutaway views of aircraft.
The R.A.F. Mosquito was a zippy, nimble aircraft, its fuselage built of plywood on a balsa wood core and its wings made of spruce and birch. Other than mechanical working parts, this made the Mosquito nearly all wood.
The Mosquito’s crew of two could take the 18,500 lb. craft to relatively low altitudes to whisk into position, drop its load, and whisk away.
This cutaway drawing was pieced together from a December 1943 issue of Popular Science.
In 1950, Popular Science issued a cutaway drawing of the most exciting object to grace the skies to that point: Convair’s B-36 Bomber. At that time, it was the world’s biggest bomber.
Its 13 man crew could ride at altitudes as high as 50,000 feet, the magazine noted.
Here is a closeup of the cockpit area:
My favorite part of the B-36 is its pressurized 87 foot-long tunnel that allowed crew members to shuttled from one end of the craft to the other. They laid on a four-wheeled cart and pulled themselves along by cable.
This cutaway drawing shows the PanAm Yankee Clipper (B-314), which was built by Boeing on the base of an XB-15 bomber fuselage. On December 21, 1937, Boeing delivered the first Yankee Clipper to PanAm.
The Yankee Clipper was the result of over 6,000 engineering drawings, 50,000 parts, and one-million rivets. But with such complexity came problems. First, it was the spark plugs. Then Boeing discovered that when the plane was loaded light, it was no match for the admittedly weak winds blowing across South Lake Washington (Seattle, WA).
And when the test pilots got the B-314 up in the air, then had yet another problem. As pilot Eddie Allen succinctly put it, “The plane won’t turn.”
But Boeing ironed out these wrinkles and eventually the Yankee Clipper became a graceful, reliable craft. Each Clipper cost $668,908; needed 3,200 of clear waterway to take off; and weighed 84,000 pounds gross.
Boeing eventually stamped out six of these Clippers for PanAm.
A great airplane cutaway from Fortune Magazine 1936 (Large Size Image):
The revolutionary fact about the Martin is that more than half of its gross weight of 51,000 pounds is useful load, instead of about a third, which has hitherto been the limit. In flying across an ocean useful load is the decisive factor, not only because vast quantities of fuel must be carried, but also because the requisite equipment is more elaborate than the equipment of land planes. The Martin carries such things as an anchor and winch, lifeboat and belts, boat hook, bilge pump, and ropes, besides all the regular aeronautical equipment such as two radios, fire extinguishers, flares, and flying instruments. In addition there is a galley complete with icebox, grill, sink, and dishes.
Looking inside the Popular Mechanics 1935 “Flying Boat”:
Welsh rarebit coming right up. Note the ladder leading up to the wing.
The cover is sharp and crystal-clear. It’s my scanner that blurred the picture. A real-life bartender whipping up a gin gimlet for a guy in a suit.
Except for those bunk beds, which you are undoubtedly sharing with a stranger, a most civilized way to travel.
