A geodetic airframe is a type of construction for the airframes of aircraft developed by British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis in the 1930s. Earlier, it was used by Prof. Schütte for the Schütte Lanz Airship SL 1 in 1909. It makes use of a space frame formed from a spirally crossing basket-weave of load-bearing members. The principle is that two geodesic arcs can be drawn to intersect on a curving surface in a manner that the torsional load on each cancels out that on the other.
A section of the rear fuselage from a Vickers Warwick showing the geodetic construction in duralumin. On exhibit at the Armstrong & Aviation Museum at Bamburgh Castle.
The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system.
Van's RV-14 cutaway showing its airframe
Rough interior of a Boeing 747 airframe
Wing structure with ribs and one spar
DH106 Comet 3 G-ANLO demonstrating at the 1954 Farnborough Airshow