NASM, SI 78-14972 The Deperdussin Monocoque introduced the stressed-skin shell structure to aircraft design, which became a global design standard, first in wood and then in metal. NASM ...

“The Northrop Alpha is a very modern airplane for its time,” says National Air and Space Museum curator F. Robert van der Linden. “It’s one of the first all-metal, semi-monocoque aircraft ...