Why do all jets look the same?
Almost all medium and large jetliners fit into the same pattern: two engines, straight-tube fuselage, and a conventional tail. Where has all the imagination gone? It’s not that aeronautical engineers have run out of ideas. Instead, the demands for efficiency have driven designs to this narrow range of similarity.
Why are planes shaped the way they are?
The shape of an airplane’s wings is what makes it possible for the airplane to fly. Airplanes’ wings are curved on top and flatter on the bottom. That shape makes air flow over the top faster than under the bottom. Using curves to affect air pressure is a trick used on many aircraft.
Why are engines on the wings instead of the tail?
Wing-mounted engines have a lot of aerodynamic benefits that tail-mounted jets don’t enjoy. Firstly, the weight of the engines on the wing relieves some of its bend. By providing the weight of the podded engines, designers can control how much the wings bend, and thereby reduce some structural weight.
Why are the engines on the back of the plane?
Positioning the engines on the wings made the plane too tall to sufficiently service without equipment, so designers moved the engines to the back of the fuselage or body and lifted the horizontal tail up to a T-tail position. The result was two similarly designed smaller aircraft: the Douglas DC-9 and the British Aerospace BAC-111.
Are there engines in the root of the wing?
Douglas took a similar approach with its DC-8 series aircraft while De Havilland of England mounted its jets in the root of the wing. The downside of wing-mounted engines is pretty much the opposite of the benefit of tail-mounted engines.
Why are the engines on the wings of a 737?
Wing-mounted jets require landing gear tall enough to make them fit, which often makes the aircraft too tall for servicing without ground support equipment (early 737s are a rare exception, although now this is proving troubling for Boeing!).