ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors provide a glimpse of the history of flight, as it considers how they can use elementary beam theory to explain one aspect of how airplanes work. There is a limit to how long a simple cantilever can be before it bends or deflects too much. This deflection limit also limits the amount of lift that can be generated by the airflow around the wing, because that lift is proportional to the wing’s surface area. If there is a limit to the lift generated, then there is a limit on how much weight, in terms of passengers and/or cargo, the plane can carry. The authors aim to determine whether providing an additional intermediate support to a cantilever beam standing in for a real airplane wing will significantly reduce the clamping moment at its base, and so also its maximum bending stress, as well as its maximum deflection at its tip.
