the sliape of the or T)Iane transversely thereof, wl.iille@ the lo@gituainal ribs iii conlbination ",itli the inberent rigidity of the shell, will render the win g or plane of great 5,9@tength longitudinall y, both for compressive and bending strains. .The forw'ard and rear edges of the upper and lo-wer sheets of the shell 4 converge togetlier and are prefeiably stiffened .. and reen'foreed by suitable 10 strips 14 to prevent fraying of the edkes of the plano. The present plane or wing c6nst@uct-ion is -of especial advanta@e in largei planes or wings although it can be used in the smaller 15 ones, but may. be slightly heavier'in weio,,ht than the ordinary construction in smaller airplanes. It is possi.ble to have the ribs and braces intersect in just the reversed nianner. Th'usi referring to Fizure '7, the nu20 meral 10 caii represent a: c@'ntinuous longi@ tudinal web, and the numeral 6 a broken and divided web of a brace with the cleats con@tructed a@cordingly. The.aileron 3 can also be construct4ed in accordance with the wings bei.ng provided with a stiff shell aiid a'suitable reenforeing skeleton therein. When the,wings are detachable, as seen in Figtires I aiid @, the adjacent ends.of the 30 tibs of the -wing I and 6entral sectibn .2 of the plane can. be detachably conn ected, by suitable joints 15i thus pi,oviding connections between. each rib of the -@vink and -the coi-responding i-i.b of the se@tion. 2 which 35 is of similar construction. This feat e, however, the same as otbor details are ai@br i_ trary -and can be clianged to suit conditions With the present construotion of the wings or planes, ii is desirable to use a simi40 lar construction of tbe struts 16, instead of ng the solid struts as now employed. AS I'sl show, i, Figui-e@ 8 and 9, the strut 16 is composed of oiie part of relatively great ,,vidth, instead of usin(,r individual front and 45 rear struts, and the stri@Lt 15 has the forward -tnd rear port@iohs.17 mi@gi-ug at their upper and lower ends into the yokes 18 and are suitably secured to -the planes. The strut 16 thus has a central oponing, and it is com-50 posed f a shell or skin 19 of material simi0 lar to that used for the' shells 4 of the-planes, with vertical or 16ngitudinal'ribs and tran@v,erse webs 22 secured within the shell to reenfo@rce the same. These, ribs embody the 55 c-leats 20 secured@ to the sheets. or sides of .the she.11 19, and webs 21 having their edges secured to the cleats 20, similar to the constructions of the ribs and braces above described. The strut 16 is-therefore com-r)osed 60 @f a hollow rigid-shell with interior stiffen-' ini ribs, thu@ providing. @ strong light c6nrue ion. The webs stiffen -the struts against side,-wise traiins, and the strut being relatively wide Will have considerable '15 strength transversely of the planes, as will be apparent. The portions 17 of the' strut can be of a, cross section similar to@that used in the ordinar7,, str-uts, as seen in F e-9 I Instead of -liaving tiie strtits comizr p d of the front and rear portions 1'7, it can be 70 solid froni ed&e to edge a8; illustr@ted by the, niodified forni of strut 16' shown in Flgure ICF. This eliininates the hole or openin- in the strut and makes the sides ihereof - @ontinuous from ihe forward to the rear edge. 75 Figures 11 and 12 illustrate de-6i]s that' can be used wh6n sheet nietal is employed for the plane i)r wiiig coiistrtictiori. Thusi longitudinal angle inembers 5' can be used to secure the edges of' ' the webs 6 to the shell 80 4, and angle members'9' used between the web 10 aDd sbell instead of using the clea-ts as described above. - Fi,-ure 12 shows chan-nel menibers 5" secured to the upper a'nd lower sheets of the sliell for the coniiections 85 of the webs 6" of the ribs, and the braces - also embody members 9" of channel oi othe r suitable cross section. Instead of u,;- ing sheet for the webs of the ribs.and braces; latti ce con-,truction can. be used, as sliown 90 by the obliqtic crossing brace members 10". This lattice construction of the webs is especi iilly usefiil in larmer.planes wherein the upp ei- and lower sli@ets :of the shell are spa ced apart a considerable distance to ren- 95 der the us@ of lattice worlc I)ractical. Having thus d@scribed the invention, what is claime'd as new is-, 1. An airplane wing comprising a sileii Of woo d, metal or similat stiff material con- 100 stitu ting a main factor of streno-th of the ",in( r, and lonaitudin,,tl stiffening er'ibs within sai(f @hell at close intervals bet e(@ -w nits 6dcres and constitutin- strips secured to the shell and web portions- seciired to said stri-DS. 1.05 2. An airplane wing comprising a shell havi ng upper I and lower sheets of wobd, met al or similar stiff material constituting a mai n factor of strength of the wina, and long itudinal stiffening ribs arranged at close 110, inte rvals et b ween the longitiidinal edges of the sbell and embodying strips secured to said sheets and web portions-secured to said strip s. 3. An airplane wing comprising a shell 1 15 havi no, upp@r an,d lower sheets of wood@ met al-or similar stiff material constituting a mai n factor of strenath of the wing, 16ngitiidi nal st;iffeniii- ri@'s within the shell and arra n&ed it -6lose intervals between the lon- 120 gitu dihal , edoes. thereof, and transverse bra ces interse@tiirig sai(i @ibs at longitudinally spaced points -of the wiiig, said ribs. and bra ces havifig vertical webs secured to said 125 upp er and.lower sheets. 4. An aijrplane wing comprising a shell havi ng upper and lower sheets of wood, - ihet, al or similar stiff material constitutino, a mai n f@ctor of strenoth of the wing, longitudinal stiffeiiing ribs withiii the shell and '130

1,553,207 arranged at (@lose intervals between the Iongitiidinal (,,dges thereof, ,tnd transverse braces intersecting said ribs at longitudinally spaced poi-nts of the wing, said ribs and braces lia ving vertical webs, and strips seetired to the tipper and lower sheets of the shell and to the edges of said webs. 5. An airplane wing comprising a shell having Lipper and lower sheets of stiff mate10 rial, long-ittidinal.stiffening ribs within I the shefl aDd arranged at iiitervals between the lono,ititdinal edges-tbereof and transv ebraces intersoctin- said ribs at longitildin,,tlly spacecl i)oints @f the wixio;, said ribs and 15 braces liaving vertical ii-ebs, and strips seciireo to the tpper aild lower slieets of the shell and to the edges of said webs@ sol@e of said strips being co'ntintious across the ed(yes of,, the webs -%vhich tliey, intersect and the 20 other strips being discontinuous arid some of the -Nyebs being contiiiuous -past the intersections.and the othei@s bein(y (liscontinuous. 6. An airplane wing comprising a shell of sti:ff material, and a skeleton frame therein 25 embodying intersecting members liavin(y verthe ed(yes of said webs, the . strips of the members -which extend iA one direction bein6continuous and the webs thereof divided, and .30 the str@ps of the other members.being diAnd the webs thereof continuous to pass between the sections of the webs of the aforesa,ld m6mbers. 7. An airplane win- comprising, a stiff shell, and a skeleton fi@ame therein embodyino, intersectincr members having webs and strips,securing the edoes of said webs to the shell t-he strips which extend in one direetion being contiiiuous and the others divided, the webs of the div,ided strips being 40 continuous and having notches for the pas@age of the continuous strips, and the other -%i-ebs bein,- divided. 8. An ai.tplane wing comprisinl), a rigid shell, and a skeleton frome thereir@embody- 45 ing intersectiiiomembers having webs and s s6eilring the edges of the -webs to the : itieilpi, s 0 . me of@ the strips being continuous alid the oth6rs divided at the intersections, dividea sirips being continu- 50 the webs of the oiis and tbo other@: d-i'vided, and strips se(@iiring tbe@en(Ts of@tte@divided webs to the (,ontinuoiis -v@ebs. 9. An aii@plane wing com ),,id p r i s i n - a r i ( @liell aiid a skeleton,,flramo Cl@@@eii@emboay- 55 ing int(,,lsecting n@@MDers secur@d to the shell, each of said membdrs, constit@ting 'a pluralit)T ofparts, saici memb-e'rs extending in different directions and -parts of the: meriibers iihicli extend in each direction -bein(r coil- 60 tinuous iind the otlier parts dividod -at the intersectioiis with the continuous parts, 10. An aiiplane wing coretp rising a shell metal or similar stiff material constituting a 65 main factor of strength of the wiiig, lona'll ttidinal stiffenin(y'iibs withi-n the shell', and transverse brt(!es intersectind, said ribs, said ribs ancl braces bein-a see.ur4ed. to said upper "O and lower sheets and alliof theni having continuous portions from end to end and other portio-ns divided at the inter8ections. In testirnony whereof I hereunto set my hand. tical webs and strips s@ciired to the shell and' comp,c)secl of upper and lower sheets of wood, $TAR.R TRUSCOTT.

. 1 1 5 5 3 , 2 0 7 . . . Patented Sept. 8, 1925. @UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. STARR TRUSCOTT, OF BIRXINGHAX, OHIO. AIRPLANE. Application filed May To azz lohom it may cone . ern.- Be it known that I, 'STARR TRuscoTT, a citizen' of the Unit6d States, and r6sident of Birmingham, in the county of Eric and 5..State of Ohio, h-,ive invented new and use-' ful Improvements in Airplanes, of which the folloivin- is a specificatio@n. The present iilvention. relat(,,s to airplanes, and more particularly to the wing or plane an4 frame constrtiction thereof. The. prevailiiro- practice in constructin& the wings or lanes of airplanes, is to se6ure transver@e ribs to longitudinal spars, , of whiel-i there -,ire usuallv two, ,ind to stretcb 1 r) f,@ibric or other pliant m.aterial across upper@-and lower edges of the ribs, whereby tl-ie pressure and strains imposed against the fabric is transmitted to tl-ie ribs and thence, to the longitudinal spars. This results in 20 an uneveii distribtition of the stresses and sti,ains, and a plane cr wino- of such con-@ struction bas its maximum @trength tran@versely thereof between its forward an . d rear e(i(-Yes, thereof, instead of lonoitudinall y in 25 w@ich direction the frames extend, b@@aiise the longitudinal or riaembers must take iip ,ill of the s= imposed -on the ribs fron-i the fabric. Consequently, the spars nlust be of @great strength to resist the strains 30 aud pressure rbsultino- from the air pressure and the bars are th@refore the vital members of the framework of the plan.es or w3@he' obje,,t .0-C the present invention is'to 35 improve the winc, o.r plane 'Construction, by Ulbilizing a sti-ff o@ rigid shell r skin, such as ply wood,. sheet metal, or the like, instead of the usual pliant fabric, in order that the shell will prcivide a large factor of strength 40 in itself, as compared with th@ shell of a steel ship, with longitudinal ribs or members within the shell to take up the strai'ns therefrom direct, said ribs or meii-ibers being of lio-ht co..nstruction and distributed in a: coiia45 pirativel@ large number transv6r@ely of th6. wing or plane. between its front and rear edges, as contradistinguis,hed from the use of the spars now employed. The present construction also ineltides transverse braceg 50 at longitudin:illy spaced points in order to reinforce a'nd stiffen the wing or plane trans-8, 1919. Serial No. 295,740. @er sely, said braces intersecting the longitudin al ribs to mali:e the framework or sIK:61eton structure more rigid, biit the strains and stres ses are falken up by the shell and longi- 55 tudin al ribs direct. !3y thus pron,iding g, sti:ff or rigid shell with a relatively large num bet of longitudindl ribs tjierein, the wing or plane will have maximiiin strength in ,t longitildinal direction as requi@ed, and 60 the constructi6n will iake up the pressure and strains uniformly throughout without the excessive stresses. and str'ains existing at certa in p6ints as in the ordinary - construetion., @ With the present arrangement, the 65 wing or plane is of substantiary uniform strer r,-th i@hrouahout its area, so as to avoid or reduce to a minimum. the tendency for the wing or pla-ne to buckle or break, and at the same time, obtaining the results without'70 materially sacrificing the lightne'ss in weight of tbe.construction. A further object is to provide'a novel assemblage of the sher, longitudinal ribs and trai @sverse braees in order that portio s of 75 n both the ribs and brace,% can be continuous acro ss the points of intersection, and to Provide other features of strength. An other object is to provide struts for the plan es or wings embodying some of the fea- 80 tiir6s therec)f, viz., a stiff shell with enclosed longi tudinal ribs, -providing a light rigid cons truction instead of @ing the ordinary solid struts. , With the foregoing and other objects in 85 view which -will be apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the cons truction and arrangement of parts hereinaft er described and claimed, it being underst ood that changes can be made within 90 the scope of what is olaimed without departi ng from the spirit of the invention. Th e invention ig-illustrated in the aecompany ing drawings, wherein.- F igure I is a plan view of a portio-n of the 95 plan es of an airplane, portions of the shell bein g broken away to I sliow the skeleton fram ework. F igur6 2 is a front view thereof. 'Fi gure 3 is an enlarged cross section of 100 the wiiag or plane taken on the line 3-@ of e 1.

1,553,207 Figure 4 is a still further enlarged view of a portion of the section shown in Figure 3, to illustrate the details more - clearly. Figure 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of Fi-ure I showing the aileron. iA igure j'is an enlarged lonolitudinal seetion in detail-, similar to 4'. Figure 7 is a horizontal through the intersection of a rib, and brace. 10 , Figtire 8 is an elovation of one. of the improved struts. Figure 9 is a cross section taken on the line 9-9, of Fig'ure 8. Figtire 10 is a similar cross section showing a modified form of strut. Fi(rures 11 and 12 are sections correspondincr .-,@vitli the s6etion shown in Figure 4, hnd showing modifications. The present'improvements can be used in 20 planes or wings of'various forms and Fig@ ures 1 an(:l 2 illiistrate one lialf of the spre@d or len(--tli of the I)iplane construction, in ed to,tl)e conti-al sectioiis 2. Th.e wing@% 25 1 bave tl)e ailerons 3 as usual. Referrin(r iii detail to one wing or plane seetion 1, the same comprises t shell or sli@in 4 coinp6sed of ply wood, slieet metal, or otlier stiff or rigid matei-ial, and is of tlie' 30 11sual foi-m, as seen in Ficrure 3, being hollovv and liavino: suitably @ui@ved upper and lower gurfaces. By iising the @tiff or rigid sheets of wood, metal or other stiitable material. the shell or skin of the pl,,Ine will con35 stitut4'?@ one of @he main factors of sti-eii(, @th instead of the skin b@inir' pliant 'as tisual and'requiring, stretching and treatment to ivithstand the wii@A -pressure, but not providin(Y'any appreci:,ilbl@ stre@,--th 'or rigid40 ity is in the present. coiistructi6n. Witbin tho sliell or sldn is a sl,-Pleton frame worlc to reenforce and cooperate with the shell to stiffen and strenthen it witli as light a constriietion ,ts practical. This 45 frame work or i-cenforeiii.-,skeleton is composed primarijy of longitiiclinal i-ibs ari-a.nged-at i'ntervals -bet-%veen the front and reiir edges of the plane. Said ribs-are liglit@ in constrticti6n and they'are relatii,oly closo, 50 togetber, as seen in Figijre 3, wlier@by the fr:tme work is distribtited tliroughotit the area of the plane, to iiniformly t4ke iip the I)i,essure iiid strains. The frame work shoxi,ii in 1"i-ii @s 3 to 7, ineltisive, is sliown o f w ch 55 IS const!ucte ood, in whi event the loncitudinal ribs einbody loiigitudinai cleats or strips 5 at the iipper and lower edges tbereof oxtending coiitinuously@ from one en(i of the wing or plane to the other, and 60 cemenied or'otli-el,wise secured to the upper @nd lo-%ver sheets of the, shell. Each rib also includos@ a series of 11ertical lonvitudinal -%Tebs 6 of ply '",Ood, or the like, ha,@in@ their upper and lower @do-es seated and sedured 65" witliin groove@, in tl@e cl'eat 5, thus providin- a li,,,Iit rigi(I coiist,t-uctioii of a cross see-, tion. siniilar to -,in I-beam. The -%vebs 6 can be provided witli openiii-s 7 tliei-eiii to liohten them in weigli and vertical strengtlieniii(@ or bracing strips 8 caii be cc'- 70 iiiented or other-vvise secured to tlle ivebs 6 to increase the strenoth thereof. The skeleton franie of th6 wing-or plalie also inclu(les, at stiitably spdced longitiidinal points tliereof, ti-ansN-ei,se braces, cor- 75 responding to the ordinai-y ribs but they caii be feiver in nuti-iber, owin- to the stiffness of the sliell 4 and the provision of the i-elativel@ 'lai--e ntilliber of lol-i-itudinal ribs wliieli tal@e up the strains. These braces are 80 iised to bi-ace the ribs aiid shell transverseIv the reqlili-ed anioiint, especially ivliere the struts are attaclied to the. ivinas Each of tlle transverse braces incjudes o@.'Vertical web 10 of ply i-vood, or the like, exiendino- con- 85 tintiousl f@om one edge. of the @hell to the other, a 'itliougli. it may be statecl at this extend completely across the plane or -",ing wlieli it is only required to brace a portion 90 of -the iirin-, s'ucll as tl@e"@ear' edde poi-tion, i-@lien -,hortei- braces cin be used. The brace al,.@o lia.-, tii)per ,ind lower cleats 6t strips 9 siinilar to the cleats 5 aiid'eooved to 6nga,-e the upper and lower edges of ihe web. P5 10. The ribs and braces intersect, as seen in Fi.?,ure 7@ it being noti3d that the lOn7 ,itiidii-ial cleo@ts 5 are continuous, while the, @'*ebs 10 of the braces are @ontinuous froiii e nd to end of the braces, and the webs 6 of 100 the ribs are disco'ntinuo'tis or divided, witb their ends terminating adjacent to the webs 10. The cleats 9 of the braces are also discontinuo'us or dividecl sc, that their ends this 105 terrninate adjacent to the 4]eats 5. Iii iiianiier, the cleats 5 wliieh are 'secured to tlle slieets of the shell, to stiffen same, are continuous lonoitudinally, -",Iiile the w@bs 10 of tbelltra-nsverse I)i-,ices are also continliolls, thereby providing for strength in both,cli- 110 rections, and avcid ' complete division of 'n eitlier the ribs,or brgaces. The iipper and foiver ed,,-ps o I f the webs 10 are provided ivitli notclies il for the passage 6f the cleltg r), so that saidcleats can pass across the 115 ed,-e@ of the webs 10. Thp. webs 10 can be provid(4 with openings 12 for li,-htening the -,vei(ybt tliereof, and the ends of t-he webs 6 of the ribs are seated and seciii-ed within the grooves of vertieal cleats or strips 13 120' sectired to the o@p , osite side of the webs 10, as seen in Fig-Lire7. The ribs a-nd braces in thus intersecting one another-and being seetired together, will pro-vide a tborough,lv. rigid frame work or sk6leton, and in con@ei- 125 tion with the stiff shell or'@kin, secured to the upper and lower edges 6f the longitudinal ribs and transverse braces, the wing or plane will@ have the stren,-th required, being of lattice work. The webs 10 will m=tain which,the -wings 4 are detachably connect- 'point, tllat soine of the br,,rees need jiot