120. The Forgotten Half

Paper

Abstract

We have all been working on weight control of that part of the airplane made up primarily of structure. But how many of us have really expended efforts on the remaining sections so often called the forgotten half? Has it really been forgotten? Today weight engineers are being called upon more and more to expend their efforts, in regards to weight control, not only on the structural components but on the entire airplane.
In order to carry out a selective study plan of this type considerable data is needed, with no combined source being available the information must be gathered from military technical orders, manufacturer’s specifications and from actual installation or studies. In order that the data be in a comparative form the installation will be assumed to be similar in regards to controls, antenna and power lead lengths.
The following is the unclassified portion of such a listing of military and a sample of commercial equipment as considered. Included in the listing is the model, manufacturer, the year put into use, output power, coverage’s and power requirements. The total installation weight is shown along with all the component weights.