Which fuselage design uses the stressed outer skin to carry the majority of imposed stresses?

• A. Monocoque
• B. Semi-monocoque
• C. Truss
• D. Stringer-frame

Answer: (A)

Stressed-skin construction means the skin itself carries most of the loads the airplane experiences. In a monocoque fuselage, the outer skin is the primary load-bearing element, taking the majority of bending, shear, and compression stresses. The internal formers and frames mainly help keep shape and distribute loads, but they don’t carry as much load themselves. This makes the structure lightweight and stiff because the skin does the heavy lifting.

In contrast, semi-monocoque shares loads between the skin and internal structure, while truss and stringer-frame designs rely more on internal members to carry loads with the skin largely acting as a cover. So the fuselage design that uses the stressed outer skin to carry the majority of imposed stresses is the monocoque design.