Afolding wing is awing configurationdesign feature of aircraft to save space and is typical ofcarrier-based aircraft that operate from the limited deck space ofaircraft carriers. The folding allows the aircraft to occupy less space in a confinedhangar because the folded wing normally rises over thefuselage decreasing the floor area of the aircraft. Vertical clearance is also limited in aircraft carrierhangar decks. In order to accommodate for this, some aircraft such as theSupermarine Seafire andFairey Gannet have additional hinges to fold the wingtips downward, while others such as theA-5 Vigilante andS-3 Viking have foldingtails. TheF-14 Tomcat'svariable-sweep wings could be "overswept" to occupy less space.
Short Brothers, the world's first aircraft manufacturer, developed andpatented[1] folding wing mechanisms forbiplane ship-borne aircraft like theirShort Folder, the first patent being granted in 1913. The Folder's biplane wings were hinged so that they folded back horizontally alongside the fuselage,[2] usually being held in place by latches projecting sideways from the rear of thefuselage.
In 1935, theDouglas TBD Devastator was the first aircraft to feature hydraulic folding wings, allowing the pilot to fold the wings from the cockpit without requiring other sailors to fold them manually.[3]
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Since the monoplane supplanted the biplane in the late 1930s, virtually all fixed-wing aircraftdesigned for shipboard duty have been equipped with folding wings. Notable exceptions include theSBD Dauntless,F2A Buffalo, andA4D/A-4 Skyhawk (all USN types); theMitsubishi A5M andYokosuka D4Y (Japanese); and theSea Harrier (British). All six are relatively compact designs. Exceptions which are currently in use, as of 2021, include theDassault Rafale, the Lockheed MartinF-35B, and the McDonnell DouglasAV-8B Harrier.
The Grumman-patentedSto-Wing aftwards-folding wing folding system, pioneered on theGrumman F4F-4 Wildcat, has been used since World War II on a number of Grumman-designed carrier aircraft,[4][5] a version of which is still in use in the 21st century on theGrumman E-2 Hawkeye shipboardairborne early warning (AEW) aircraft and itsC-2 Greyhound derivative.[6][7]
Another Grumman naval aircraft, theF-14 Tomcat, hadvariable-sweep wings that could be swept between 20° and 68° in flight. For parking, the wings could be "overswept" to 75°.[8]
A folding wing has some disadvantages compared to a non-folding wing. It is heavier and has more complex connections forelectrical,fuel,aerodynamic, and structural systems.
Manynaval helicopters haverotor blades that can be aligned over the fuselage to save space onboard ships.
Folding surfaces are rare among land-based designs and are used on aircraft that are too tall or too wide to fit inside service hangars. Examples include theBoeing B-50 Superfortress and its folding tail. TheSaab 37 Viggen and theBoeing 377 Stratocruiser have foldable rear fins that make them lower for entering hangars. TheBoeing 777 (classic)twinjetwide-bodyairliner was offered with folding wingtips for confined airports, though this was never ordered.[9] The newBoeing 777X features a shorter and simpler folding wingtip than was planned for the earlier Boeing 777, which will provide an extra 7 metres (23 ft) of total wingspan in flight, while allowing the airplane to fit inside the same airport gates as the 777-200LR/777-300ER.
Aircraft with ventral fins under the fuselage for stability which had to be folded for takeoff and landing include theMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, theMiG-27, and theVought XF8U-3 Crusader III.
An example of aircraft using folding wingtips other than stowage/hangar space such as aerodynamics and flight handling was theNorth American XB-70 Valkyrie. This increased both compression lift and enhanced directional stability at high speeds.
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The F4F-4 was the first version of the Wildcat to feature a Grumman innovation, theSto-Wing. TheSto-Wing used a novel approach using a compound angle folding-wing that was unique to Grumman...It was a successful design that was later used on the F6F Hellcat and TBF Avenger.
