Collapsible Airplane Wings Are Made of Rubber Tubing (Feb, 1931)
Collapsible Airplane Wings Are Made of Rubber Tubing
AIRPLANE wings that may be folded up, when the ship is stowed away in the garage for the night, and pumped up again in the morning with a tire pump, are the invention of three Washington men. Three large rubber tubes, covered with fabric, form each wing. At present they have been developed for glider use only, reducing weight.
Imagine trying to get FAA certification for this sort of contraption?
Imagine pumping it up?
At least if you fall on water, you could keep floating in that
I’m picturing myself with my trusty Rema patch kit, out on a wing…
Inflatoplane?
Dear Mythbusters:
I saw a photo of a glider made of inflated rubber tubes covered with fabric.
I doubt it would be possible to achieve an air pressure high enough to keep the wings rigid.
Without killing yourself or Kari, can you recreate this improbable AIRcraft?
yours
Here you go.
http://en.wikipedia.org…