Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber
I know in some aircraft (cannot speak specifically because I can't recall) the space in the wings is used to store fuel, this makes the wings bow down on takeoffs.
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Basically, ALL airplanes store fuel in the wings. There are some exceptions, but they're not that common. Most transport category aircraft also store fuel in a center tank between the wings as well, but the fuel from that tank usually does not go straight to the engines - it gets pumped out to replenish the wing tanks, and THEN it goes to the engines. The pumping to the wing tanks is done for structural reasons (see if you can figure out why).
As far as wing flexibility goes, most large transport category airplanes have highly flexible wings. In fact, you can typically bend the wings upward until they touch (no kidding) before they snap. If you do any structural analysis of long members, you'll find that things can bend to what looks like an awful lot with very little stress. Most long members are actually designed to meet deflection limits, rather than stress limits.