Ar 96A vs Ar96B

[Graham Boak]

The new Flugzeug Profile appears to be quite definite about the differences between these two variants. Namely, the longer engine cowling and the forward movement of the wing. The profile drawings don't agree, but we all know how much credence they have. In particular, how the wingroot extension meets the fuselage behind the engine cowling. On the A, the cowling is shown as having a small fuselage length behind it, forward of the wing. On the B, the wing extension comes to the rear of the cowling. This is consistent with a small forward movement of the wing, to cope with the longer, heavier, engine, and is confirmed by the relationship between the trailing edge of the wing and the canopy framing.

However, looking at the photographs, I can't claim to be convinced. I cannot judge the movement of the trailing edge, but this gap between the cowling and the wingroot does not seem to be there on the actual aircraft. Slightly different dimensions are quoted in different parts of the FP, but regardless of this the increase in length of the aircraft is much less than half the increase in length of the engine - clearly a nice piece of packaging by the Arado design team, but it doesn't help clarify matters. Does anyone have any further information that could make matters clearer?

My apologies for posting this on the wrong forum previously.