User:BilCat/Sandbox/Grumman Sto-Wing
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Comparison_of_F4F_Wildcats_with_and_without_folded_wings_c1942.jpg/310px-Comparison_of_F4F_Wildcats_with_and_without_folded_wings_c1942.jpg)
The Grumman Sto-Wing (sometimes stylized as STO-Wing) is a patented wing aftwards-folding system. Pioneered on the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, it has been used since World War II on a number of Grumman-designed carrier aircraft. A version of this system is still in use in the 21st century on the Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye shipboard airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft and its C-2 Greyhound cargo aircraft derivative.
History
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/E2C-Hawkeye01.jpg/220px-E2C-Hawkeye01.jpg)
The Grumman-patented Sto-Wing aftwards-folding wing folding system, pioneered on the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, has been used since World War II on a number of Grumman-designed carrier aircraft,[1][2] a version of which is still in use in the 21st century on the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye shipboard airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft and its C-2 Greyhound derivative.[3][4]
Leroy Grumman's ability as an engineer and designer was characterized by a Grumman Company engineer as that of "'a master of the educated hunch' who could foresee technical problems and their solutions."[5] He single-handedly invented the famous "Sto-Wing" wing-panel folding system that revolutionized carrier aircraft storage and handling, pioneered on the F4F-4 Wildcat subtype. He worked out the solution by sticking paper clips into a soap eraser to find the pivot point that made the Sto-Wing possible.[6]
238 2006 Grumman Wildcat “Sto-Wing” Wing-folding Mechanism[7] First functional wing-folding mechanism, enabling aircraft to take up less space on ships.
Located at Air Zoo aviation museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
[8]
Aircraft
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- Grumman AF Guardian
- Grumman C-2 Greyhound
- Grumman E-1 Tracer (WF)
- Grumman F4F Wildcat (General Motors FM)
- Grumman F6F Hellcat
- Grumman TBF Avenger (General Motors TBM)
- Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye (W2F)
Gallery
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Grumman F6F Hellcats of the US Navy. The patented Sto-Wing system was common to Grumman fighters of World War II.
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Grumman E-1 Tracer with Sto-Wing system folded wings.
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Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, which still uses a form of Grumman's Sto-Wing design.
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FM-2 Wildcats on USS Kitkun Bay (1944)
Notes
[edit]- ^ Dwyer, Larry (19 February 2014). "The Aviation History Online Museum - Grumman F4F Wildcat". The Aviation History Online Museum. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
The F4F-4 was the first version of the Wildcat to feature a Grumman innovation, the Sto-Wing. The Sto-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.
- ^ "Wing-Folding Mechanism of the Grumman Wildcat - An American Society of Mechanical Engineers Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark". asme.org. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. May 15, 2006. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- ^ Dunn, Terry (27 April 2016). "Airplane Origami: How Folding Wings Work". Tested.com. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ Thomason, Tommy (30 March 2011). "Grumman Sto-Wing Redux". Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "The Grumman Story." Aerofiles, revised 19 June 1999. Retrieved: 22 March 2009.
- ^ Thruelsen 1976, p. 126.
- ^ Dwyer, Larry (19 February 2014). "The Aviation History Online Museum – Grumman F4F Wildcat". aviation-history.com. The Aviation History Online Museum. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
The F4F-4 was the first version of the Wildcat to feature a Grumman innovation, the Sto-Wing. The Sto-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.
- ^ ASME brochure
Other sources
[edit]External links
[edit]Category:Naval aviation technology Category:Aircraft wing components