RCAF '46 ?

[riggerrob]

…..
I have a bigger issue with "Gregor wanted to shift the wing to the bottom of the fuselage...". Michael Gregor left Seversky Aircraft primarily because he was unhappy with the low placement of Alexander Kartveli's wing. He wanted that wing placed in the aerodynamically ideal mid-position on 'his' SEV-3 fuselage. (For some reason, Gregor had no issue with the low placement of 'bottom' wings on his Brunner-Winkle Bird designs, GR series, or Model 10 FDB-1 biplanes. ….

OTL M. Gregor’s reluctance to install a low wing was normal for the 1930s when few engineers understood how to streamline exit airflow from the wing roots of low-winged airplanes. That airflow gets more complicated when a circular fuselage is involved. The problem lays deep in the acute included angles where wings meet fuselage.
Grumman initially solved the problem by installing mid-wings - on the F4 Wildcat/Martlet) for the shallowest possible interference angles (say 90 degrees). Grumman continued that aerodynamic philosophy with their later: Hellcat, Avenger, Bearcat and Tiger Cat which had wings mounted high enough on circular fuselages to minimize interference angles.

Severesky did similar on most of their P-47, F-84 and F-105.

North American did a similar wing root configuration when it installed wings part way up flat fuselage sides on its widely-successful P-51 Mustang. Most modern light singles copy the P-51’s wing-root to square fuselage shape.

Meanwhile, Supermarine did the opposite with a perfect elliptical wing mated to a perfect rounded fuselage. The tiny included angles required massive, 3D curved wing root fairings to smooth exit airflow.

Fast forward to the Reno Air Races 2023 Sport Class dominated by slab-sided Glassairs and beautifully curved Lancairs. But to win, Lancair race number 55 needed a massive, bulged, squared-off “beluga belly” to fill in the area of turbulent airflow. From the second-place perspective … er … below and behind … Lancair number 55 looks more like a boxy Glassair.

 

[Scott Kenny]

OTL M. Gregor’s reluctance to install a low wing was normal for the 1930s when few engineers understood how to streamline exit airflow from the wing roots of low-winged airplanes. That airflow gets more complicated when a circular fuselage is involved. The problem lays deep in the acute included angles where wings meet fuselage.
Grumman initially solved the problem by installing mid-wings - on the F4 Wildcat/Martlet) for the shallowest possible interference angles (say 90 degrees). Grumman continued that aerodynamic philosophy with their later: Hellcat, Avenger, Bearcat and Tiger Cat which had wings mounted high enough on circular fuselages to minimize interference angles.

And Vought set the angles of the Corsair gull wing such that they met the round fuselage at 90deg or close enough to it.

Meanwhile, Supermarine did the opposite with a perfect elliptical wing mated to a perfect rounded fuselage. The tiny included angles required massive, 3D curved wing root fairings to smooth exit airflow.

Which, as an A&P, are a freaking nightmare to make in sheet metal!

Fast forward to the Reno Air Races 2023 Sport Class dominated by slab-sided Glassairs and beautifully curved Lancairs. But to win, Lancair race number 55 needed a massive, bulged, squared-off “beluga belly” to fill in the area of turbulent airflow. From the second-place perspective … er … below and behind … Lancair number 55 looks more like a boxy Glassair.

That makes me want to cry. Lancairs are not supposed to be boxy!!!!

 

[riggerrob]

Returning to RCAF ‘46 Transport Command.
By 1945, CC&F have abandoned building Budd Conestogas out of stainless steel. Instead, CC&F Conestoga Mark III is built of sheet aluminum with a corrugated inner layer. The Conestoga Mark III has thousands of rivets joining the inner and outer skins, but the production version is bonded together with phenolic resin (see the Redux phenolic resin in post-war Shorts Skyvans).
Progressive upgrades to engines and range see RCAF Conestogas get progressively more powerful engines and longer ranges. Eventually they get turboprops.

In a related matter, a bankrupt United Kingdom asks Canada to take over administering some of her colonies in the Carribean. Frequent trips by diplomats and soldiers increase demands for cargo ships and cargo airplanes.
A tiff with the USA - over landing rights - forces most RCAF flights to refuel in Bermuda or Mexico before completing their journeys to Carribean islands.
Funny how Canadian Army infantry regiments “discover” a need for jungle training and equally “funny” part is the way that jungle-training always occurrs during the coldest part of Canadian winters??????

This demand for increased range accelerates RCAF orders for long-range Yukons and eventually a 4-engined cargo plane that resembles a cross between a Conestoga, a Belfast, a C123 Provider, etc. This fictitious transport has a short and wide cargo compartment …wide enough to carry most Canadian Army AFVs. …. short because they need to carry lots off fuel to “hop over” the USA.

 

[Apophenia]

... but the production version is bonded together with phenolic resin (see the Redux phenolic resin in post-war Shorts Skyvans)...

A more contemporary example of Redux use would be the deHavilland Comet:
-- https://web.archive.org/web/2011072...ng/Adhesive Bond Information John/COMET_P.pdf