Other than the Spitfire what other Aircraft have had a Variant with clipped wings?.
I was talking with a friend when this subject came up, We concluded that although many Aircraft had Clipped wings when became Reno racers but we could only come up with the Spitfire that had such a wing while in military service, I felt sure we had forgot a Aircraft but even now i can not think of any other types.
Did any Russian, American or German Aircraft have such a modification? I know that a clipped wing gave increased speed at low level ,but was the benefits of the clipped wing get out weighed by handling problems?, also if any other types of Aircraft had Clipped wings do any still exist?.
We were mainly talking World War2 era Aircraft but feel free to mention any Aircraft that had such a modification in Military service.
By: TEXANTOMCAT - 11th January 2005 at 13:51
Somewhere in my library i have some photos of a ‘Super Harvard’ an American chap built in the 60s – shoved a R2800 in the nose, lobbed on a three bladed prop and chopped 8ft off the wings – i suppose thats a clipped wing –
apparently its performance was so great it outdragged a P-51 off the deck!
By: JDK - 11th January 2005 at 06:43
A Chap called Hinton mentioned it to a another chap when I was ‘hanging around’ on the ramp after a testflight :rolleyes: but I think it was a legpull.
The P-47 was a new wing, but the 109E wing was sqare tipped while the F and G were rounded; which DID increase the area, as the wing structure was otherwise essentially unchanged. So Messerscmitt went the other way.
There was that retractable winged racer of course…
By: Chad Veich - 11th January 2005 at 02:27
Oh yes… and Fleet Air Arm Corsairs- though it had more to do with fitting them below decks with the wings folded.
The contra prop Spitfire PR19 currently causing excitement/rumour has non standard clipped tips due to the small workshop it was rebuilt in- or is this an urban myth :confused:
🙂
Well, the Spitfire was restored by PoF in the same hangars that much larger aircraft have been restored in so I would say this is probably an urban myth. I would prefer it with the standard tips but, if it has to be clipped, they could have at least put a standard clipped tip on it. Instead they simply put a flat plate on the tip. I’m not complaining though, just expressing my opinion. I very much enjoyed watching it perform at Chino last year.
By: duxfordhawk - 10th January 2005 at 22:35
No, the award goes to Dan Johnson, for coming up with the same answers at the same time as me 😀
But lets not fight..you can keep it if you like :p
Damn i never get awards 🙁 , I will hand it back soon :D. But Seriously people thanks for the information you have given so far.
By: galdri - 10th January 2005 at 22:17
I believe this Spitfire has a Clipped wing for performance reasons not due to workshop space, Oh thanks for the double posting award thats what happens when P.C has a crash dueing a posting but i will off course treasure this Award 😀 .
Another post more or less at the same time as mine! We are thinking in unision 😮
By: Will J - 10th January 2005 at 22:14
I believe this Spitfire has a Clipped wing for performance reasons not due to workshop space, Oh thanks for the double posting award thats what happens when P.C has a crash dueing a posting but i will off course treasure this Award 😀 .
No, the award goes to Dan Johnson, for coming up with the same answers at the same time as me 😀
But lets not fight..you can keep it if you like :p
By: galdri - 10th January 2005 at 22:11
The contra prop Spitfire PR19 currently causing excitement/rumour has non standard clipped tips due to the small workshop it was rebuilt in- or is this an urban myth :confused:
🙂
Well at least it is ‘clipped’. But I find it highly unlikely that a multi million dollar restoration would have clipped wings because of too small a workshop :confused:
Picture nicked from http://http://www.planesoffame.org/museum-aircraft.php
By: Will J - 10th January 2005 at 22:10
Another off the top of my head….. Victor tankers- something to do with reducing fatigue in the spar I think….
By: duxfordhawk - 10th January 2005 at 22:09
Oh yes… and Fleet Air Arm Corsairs- though it had more to do with fitting them below decks with the wings folded.
The contra prop Spitfire PR19 currently causing excitement/rumour has non standard clipped tips due to the small workshop it was rebuilt in- or is this an urban myth :confused:
🙂
I believe this Spitfire has a Clipped wing for performance reasons not due to workshop space, Oh thanks for the double posting award thats what happens when P.C has a crash dueing a posting but i will off course treasure this Award 😀 .
By: DazDaMan - 10th January 2005 at 21:58
Oh yes… and Fleet Air Arm Corsairs- though it had more to do with fitting them below decks with the wings folded.
The contra prop Spitfire PR19 currently causing excitement/rumour has non standard clipped tips due to the small workshop it was rebuilt in- or is this an urban myth :confused:
🙂
I seem to recall that in the Flypast or Aeroplane article about it, so you could be right.
By: DazDaMan - 10th January 2005 at 21:57
What P47 variant had clipped wings? P47N had squared off wings but they were larger not clipped I believe.
Royal Navy clipped with wings on their F4U Corsairs.
Dan
I stand corrected! 😀
By: Flood - 10th January 2005 at 21:54
Didn’t the Ju88A4 have a smaller wingspan than its predecessors?
Too lazy to check…
Flood
By: Will J - 10th January 2005 at 21:49
And the award for synchronised ‘formation posting on the same subject goes to….’ 😀
By: Will J - 10th January 2005 at 21:48
Oh yes… and Fleet Air Arm Corsairs- though it had more to do with fitting them below decks with the wings folded.
The contra prop Spitfire PR19 currently causing excitement/rumour has non standard clipped tips due to the small workshop it was rebuilt in- or is this an urban myth :confused:
🙂
By: Dan Johnson - 10th January 2005 at 21:47
P-47 Thunderbolt – other than those already mentioned, I can’t think of any others :confused:
What P47 variant had clipped wings? P47N had squared off wings but they were larger not clipped I believe.
Royal Navy clipped with wings on their F4U Corsairs.
Dan
By: Will J - 10th January 2005 at 21:46
Yes but they weren’t ‘clipped’ as such, the wing area was much the same, even a little more on the squre tipped ones
I think the same is pretty much true for the later Thunderbolts- the ‘squared off wing’ was actually a larger, all new design. Though I may be wrong….
The CAF have an example recovering from a landing accident/fire.
By: DazDaMan - 10th January 2005 at 21:43
A6M Zero was another – there was the M-2 which had the classic rounded profile, and the M-3, which was clipped.
(If you want to be pedantic, you **could** include the Harvard here – if you’re including the Tora! Tora! Tora! Zero conversions, which had the rounded wingtips fitted on ;))
By: galdri - 10th January 2005 at 21:40
There was I suppose the rounded and square wings of the different BF109 variants.
Yes but they weren’t ‘clipped’ as such, the wing area was much the same, even a little more on the squre tipped ones
By: DazDaMan - 10th January 2005 at 21:39
P-47 Thunderbolt – other than those already mentioned, I can’t think of any others :confused:
By: galdri - 10th January 2005 at 21:38
Of the top of my head, I can not recall any other ‘clipped wing’ besides the Spitfire, if we are talking combat types only. The Piper Cub and the Tailorcraft lightaircraft, had clipped wings as a after market mod, and were used as aerobatic trainers/airshow machines.
On the subject of performance and handling, clipping the wings increases the wingloading and therefore makes for a higher stalling speed. The Roll rate will increase and the speed ( at low level), how ever turning radius will increase.
Hope that answers some of your questions.
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January 10, 2005 at 9:15 pm