More research reveals the Ho-229 (Go-229) IX was of mixed construction, with the centre pod made from welded steel tubing and wing spars built from wood (Photo #1). The wings were made from a series of two thin, carbon-impregnated plywood panels (3 mm and 4 mm) pressure-glued with a resin, charcoal and sawdust mixture (See diagram on Photo #2) Production models would have seen this covering glued by a heating process using resin alone and two special furnaces had been built for this process. (These were recovered by British and US Army engineers, dismantled and flown back to their respective countries. In the UK, De Havilland used these extensively). The production models would most likely incorporate several flex-strips of rubber which had been tried on other experimental aircraft.
The wing had a single main spar, penetrated by two jet engine inlets, and a secondary spar was used for attaching the moving surfaces. It was designed with a 7g load factor and a 1.8× safety rating; therefore, the aircraft had a 12.6g ultimate load rating. The wing's chord/thickness ratio ranged from 15% at the root to 12% then 8% at the wingtips. The aircraft was fitted initially with retractable tricycle landing gear, with the nose gear assembly on the first two prototypes sourced from a He 177's tail-wheel system (wish I’d known this earlier!!!) with the third prototype using an He 177A main gear wheel rim and tire on its custom-designed nose-gear strut work and wheel fork.
A drogue parachute housing would have been fitted on the underside of the tail to slow the aircraft on landing. The pilot sat on what was the German’s ejection seat. A special pressure suit was also developed by Dräger for the prototypes which would not be pressurised. The aircraft was originally designed for the BMW 003 jet engine, but as that engine was not quite ready, the Junkers Jumo 004 engine was substituted.
Lateral and vertical control was achieved with elevons and spoilers. The control system included both long-span (inboard) and short-span (outboard) spoilers, with the smaller outboard spoilers activated first. This system gave a smoother and more graceful control of yaw than would a single-spoiler system.
Weapon loads must be pure speculation at this point. One drawing of the twin-seat version produced at the Gotha factory in 1945 shows provision for two under wing pods (canon/rocket ?) outboard of the centre-section. Whatever the intended role for this aircraft was, its legacy must also include an ongoing fascination by many modellers today.