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Boxy fuselage structures

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MalcolmW

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
118
A question for Orion.

The other day you commented that your company had investigated an alternative to the boxy structures made from composite panels, but gave up on the ‘kerfing’ approach.

This raised a question in my mind about ‘boxy’ fuselages. Do they have a significant penalty in drag as compared to tubular fuselages? Or, do they have structural penalties?

I ask this question because I really don’t know enough aerodynamics to answer the question myself. I do note that there are quite a few aircraft that have ‘boxy’ fuselages, of which there are a couple which have high cruising speeds.

I also recognize that flat panel construction can be combined with sheet metal to produce more 'rounded' fuselage structures, but the basic question about the 'penalty' for boxy fuselages has me puzzled.
 
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