To fly farther, to fly higher, and to fly faster, have been the aims ever urging the aircraft designer on to further progress. Of all, the lust for high speed is the most compelling. While the past few years have seen spectacular increases in the World's High Speed Record (see Fig. 1) still higher performance in the supersonic region will be commonplace in the near future. To attain these speeds, largely made possible by the increased power and light weight of the turbo-jet unit, the designer must seek out means still further to reduce aerodynamic drag.

A general approach and tentative solution has been indicated to the problem of estimating wing skin thickness from preliminary design data. The solution is presented in a form that permits calculations to be made quickly and with a minimum of effort.

In deriving the empirical formula relating perimeter and area of the aerofoil section, only symmetrical sections were considered. The amount of camber normally employed, however, should not alter the results appreciably.

While the problem has been dealt with only partially and as yet only tentative empirical coefficients have been suggested, it is hoped that the author’s considerations of the problem will be of some interest and use at this stage.

Many engineers probably regard riveted joints as a very elementary feature of construction, worthy only of a passing reference in a first year Engineering Course, or a page or so in the appropriate “Handbook”.

In fact, modern aircraft riveting is an extremely complex subject.