Structures and Materials: Aircraft Structural Purpose and Architecture

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! The wing must support the aircraft in flight. The landing gear must absorb touchdown forces. The fuselage must carry passengers and cargo while connecting the wings, engines, and tail. In a pressurized aircraft, the cabin must also contain air at a higher pressure than the atmosphere outside. All these jobs overlap. A piece of exterior skin may provide an aerodynamic surface, help resist bending, contain cabin pressure, and transfer force into neighboring structure. The idea that ties this lesson together is the load path: the route through which a force travels inside a structure.