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From: yarvin-norman@CS.YALE.EDU (Norman Yarvin)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: More B1 fun
Message-ID: <1991Jun12.012630.25416@amd.com>
Date: 10 Jun 91 20:28:50 GMT
Article-I.D.: amd.1991Jun12.012630.25416
References: <1991Jun10.023020.11556@amd.com>
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From: yarvin-norman@CS.YALE.EDU (Norman Yarvin)


microsoft!t-scotta@uunet.uu.net writes:
>>  Its leaking fuel problem is nothing unusual.
>
>Have I missed something or do all swing wing aircraft leak fuel.

As I understand it, fuel leak problems are common during development of
aircraft largely because of the use of fuel tanks integral to the wing.
This means that the same surface serves as a wing, which means it is
stressed by airflow and bends to take up the stress, and as a fuel tank, for
which it must be hermetically sealed.  I presume swing wings exacerbate this
problem because the pattern of stress changes as the wing moves.

Jet aircraft generally carry monstrous amounts of fuel; their wings are
practically huge fuel tanks.  Leaking fuel is unacceptable in an
operational aircraft, but as a development problem it is not an indication
of the designers' incompetence.

--
Norman Yarvin
yarvin-norman@cs.yale.edu