Tailless aircraft
Encyclopedia
A tailless aircraft traditionally has all its horizontal control surfaces on its main wing surface. It has no horizontal stabilizer - either tailplane or canard
foreplane (nor does it have a second wing in tandem
arrangement). A 'tailless' type usually still has a vertical stabilising fin (vertical stabilizer
) and control surface (rudder
). However, NASA
has recently adopted the 'tailless' description for the novel X-36 research aircraft which has a canard foreplane but no vertical fin.
The most successful tailless configuration has been the tailless delta
, especially for combat aircraft.
, having the pilot, engines, etc. located directly in or on the wing.
) or in front of (canard foreplane
) the main lifting surface. Because of this the aerodynamic center
of an ordinary wing would lie ahead of the aircraft's center of gravity, creating instability in pitch. Some other method must be used to move the aerodynamic center backward and make the aircraft stable
. There are two main ways for the designer to achieve this:
An alternative approach is to locate the main weight of the aircraft a significant distance below the wing center, so that gravity will tend to maintain the aircraft in a horizontal attitude and so counteract any aerodynamic instability. In practice this is not sufficient to provide stability on its own, and typically is augmented by sweepback and washout as described. A classic example is the Rogallo wing
hang glider.
There is a trade-off between stability and maneuverability. A high level of maneuverability requires a low level of stability. Some modern hi-tech combat aircraft are aerodynamically unstable in pitch and rely on fly-by-wire computer control to provide stability. The Northrop B-2 Spirit
flying wing is an example.
The solution usually adopted is to provide large elevator and/or elevon
(combined elevator and aileron) surfaces on the wing trailing edge. These must generate large control forces, as their distance from the aerodynamic center is small. Consequently, when maneuvring, a tailless type may suffer higher drag than the conventional equivalent, even though it has less drag in level flight. High maneuvrability demands high control moments (force times "lever arm" distance), and the short lever arm inherent in tailless types means they are not as manoeuvrable as their conventional equivalents.
During and shortly after the First World War, the English engineer J. W. Dunne
developed a series of tailless aircraft characterised by having swept wings. In his book An Experiment with Time
he claims that one of these was the first aeroplane ever to achieve natural stability in flight. Certainly, Dunne designed the first practical tailless aeroplanes. Few records of these aircraft remain.
Most of Dunne's designs were biplanes, typically featuring a fuselage nacelle between the planes, with rear-mounted 'pusher' propeller, and twin rudders between each pair of wing tips.
The D.6 monoplane of 1910 was a pusher type high-wing monoplane which featured turned-down wingtips with pronounced wash-out.
Many of Dunne's ideas on stability remain valid, and he is known to have influenced later designers such as John K. Northrop (father of the B-2 spirit
stealth bomber).
Dunne gave some help initially to Geoffrey T. R. Hill
who produced the Pterodactyl series of aircraft
from 1920s onwards which were specifically designed to reduce the likelihood of stalling and spinning.
produced the first tailless delta design, the Delta I, in 1931. He went on to build a series of ever-more sophisticated designs, and after the Second World War went to America to continue his work.
on the first tailless aircraft to go into production, the Me 163 Komet
. It was a rocket-powered interceptor, and was the fastest aircraft to reach operational service during the war. Its rocket propulsion system was highly unsafe, especially the early versions. Landing was hazardous not only because the Komet had no wheels(after take off), but because sparks from the metal landing skid often flew up and ignited fuel vapours escaping from the propulsion system. More pilots were killed in takeoff and landing incidents than in combat.
made a few examples of a tailless jet-powered research aircraft called the DH108 Swallow, based on the forward fuselage of the de Havilland Vampire
jet fighter. One of these was one of the first aircraft ever to break the sound barrier - it did so during a shallow dive, and the sonic boom was heard by several witnesses.
series of supersonic jet fighters were an example of the tailless delta configuration, and became one of the most widely produced of all Western jet aircraft. By contrast the Soviet Union's equivalent widely produced delta-winged fighter, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
, does have a tail stabiliser.
prototype became the only seaplane
ever to exceed the speed of sound. Convair built several other successful tailless delta types.
SST
and its Soviet counterpart the Tupolev Tu-144
were tailless supersonic jet airliners, with gracefully curved ogival delta
wings. The grace and beauty of these aircraft in flight were often remarked upon.
reconnaissance aircraft was the fastest jet powered aircraft at the time it was retired, achieving speeds above Mach 3.
flying wing
. It is unstable in flight and has artificial stability provided by a fly-by-wire system.
Canard (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, canard is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the forward surface is smaller than the rearward, the former being known as the "canard", while the latter is the main wing...
foreplane (nor does it have a second wing in tandem
Tandem wing
thumb|right|QAC Quickie Q2A tandem wing aircraft usually involves two full-sized wings, both of which are full airfoils. Sometimes an aircraft of this configuration can look like a variation on the biplane, but is in fact very different. The forward wing is often technically a canard, fitted with...
arrangement). A 'tailless' type usually still has a vertical stabilising fin (vertical stabilizer
Vertical stabilizer
The vertical stabilizers, vertical stabilisers, or fins, of aircraft, missiles or bombs are typically found on the aft end of the fuselage or body, and are intended to reduce aerodynamic side slip. It is analogical to a skeg on boats and ships.On aircraft, vertical stabilizers generally point upwards...
) and control surface (rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
). However, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
has recently adopted the 'tailless' description for the novel X-36 research aircraft which has a canard foreplane but no vertical fin.
The most successful tailless configuration has been the tailless delta
Delta wing
The delta wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta .-Delta-shaped stabilizers:...
, especially for combat aircraft.
Flying wings
Flying wings are tailless designs which also lack a distinct fuselageFuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
, having the pilot, engines, etc. located directly in or on the wing.
Longitudinal stability
A tailless aeroplane has no separate horizontal stabiliser, either behind (tailplaneTailplane
A tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer , is a small lifting surface located on the tail behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes...
) or in front of (canard foreplane
Canard (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, canard is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the forward surface is smaller than the rearward, the former being known as the "canard", while the latter is the main wing...
) the main lifting surface. Because of this the aerodynamic center
Aerodynamic center
The torques or moments acting on an airfoil moving through a fluid can be accounted for by the net lift applied at some point on the foil, and a separate net pitching moment about that point whose magnitude varies with the choice of where the lift is chosen to be applied...
of an ordinary wing would lie ahead of the aircraft's center of gravity, creating instability in pitch. Some other method must be used to move the aerodynamic center backward and make the aircraft stable
Longitudinal static stability
Longitudinal static stability is the stability of an aircraft in the longitudinal, or pitching, plane during static conditions. This characteristic is important in determining whether an aircraft will be able to fly as intended...
. There are two main ways for the designer to achieve this:
- Sweep the wing leading edge back, either as a swept wingSwept wingA swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...
or delta wingDelta wingThe delta wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta .-Delta-shaped stabilizers:...
, and reduce the angle of incidenceAngle of incidenceAngle of incidence is a measure of deviation of something from "straight on", for example:* in the approach of a ray to a surface, or* the angle at which the wing or horizontal tail of an airplane is installed on the fuselage, measured relative to the axis of the fuselage.-Optics:In geometric...
of the outer wing section so that it acts rather like a conventional tailplane stabiliser. If this is done progressively along the span of the outer section, it is called tip washoutWashout (aviation)Washout refers to a feature of wing design to deliberately reduce the lift distribution across the span of the wing of an aircraft. The wing is designed so that angle of incidence is higher at the wing roots and decreases across the span, becoming lowest at the wing tip...
. The outer section of the wing now acts as a conventional tailplane, and in level flight the aircraft should be trimmed so that the tips do not contribute any lift: they may even need to provide a small downthrust. This reduces the overall efficiency of the wing, but for many designs - especially for high speeds - this is outweighed by the reductions in drag, weight and cost over a conventional stabiliser. This method was developed by the English aeronaut J. W. Dunne in the early 20th century, but did not gain widespread use until the jet age. Since Dunne, this approach has been augmented by the use of low or null pitching momentPitching momentIn aerodynamics, the pitching moment on an airfoil is the moment produced by the aerodynamic force on the airfoil if that aerodynamic force is considered to be applied, not at the center of pressure, but at the aerodynamic center of the airfoil...
airfoilAirfoilAn airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....
s, seen for example in the HortenHorten brothersWalter Horten and Reimar Horten , sometimes credited as the Horten Brothers, were German aircraft pilots and enthusiasts, and members of the Hitler Youth and Nazi party...
series of sailplanes and fighters.
- Use a wing aerofoilAirfoilAn airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....
section with reflex or reverse camberCamber (aerodynamics)Camber, in aeronautics and aeronautical engineering, is the asymmetry between the top and the bottom surfaces of an aerofoil. An aerofoil that is not cambered is called a symmetric aerofoil...
. With reflex camber the flatter side of the wing is on top, and the strongly curved side is on the bottom, so the front section presents a high angle of attack while the back section is more or less horizontal and contributes no lift, so acting like a tailplane or the washed-out tips of a swept wing. Reflex camber can be simulated by fitting large elevatorsElevator (aircraft)Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
to a conventional airfoil and trimming them noticeably upwards; the center of gravity must also be moved forward of the usual position. Due to the Bernoulli effect, reflex camber tends to create a small downthrust, so the angle of attack of the wing is increased to compensate. This in turn creates additional drag. This method allows a wider choice of wing planformWing configurationFixed-wing aircraft, popularly called aeroplanes, airplanes or just planes may be built with many wing configurations.This page provides a breakdown of types, allowing a full description of any aircraft's wing configuration...
than sweepback and washout, and designs have included circular (Arup) and straight wings. But the drag inherent in a high angle of attack is generally regarded as making the concept inefficient, and only a few types, such as the Fauvel and Marske Aircraft series of sailplanes, use it.
An alternative approach is to locate the main weight of the aircraft a significant distance below the wing center, so that gravity will tend to maintain the aircraft in a horizontal attitude and so counteract any aerodynamic instability. In practice this is not sufficient to provide stability on its own, and typically is augmented by sweepback and washout as described. A classic example is the Rogallo wing
Rogallo wing
The Rogallo wing is a flexible type of airfoil. In 1948, Gertrude Rogallo, and her husband Francis Rogallo, a NASA engineer, invented a self-inflating flexible wing they called the Parawing, also known after them as the "Rogallo Wing" and flexible wing...
hang glider.
There is a trade-off between stability and maneuverability. A high level of maneuverability requires a low level of stability. Some modern hi-tech combat aircraft are aerodynamically unstable in pitch and rely on fly-by-wire computer control to provide stability. The Northrop B-2 Spirit
B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
flying wing is an example.
Pitch control
Many early designs failed to provide effective pitch control to compensate for the missing stabiliser. As a result, these aircraft could pitch up or down sharply and uncontrollably if they were not carefully handled. These gave tailless designs a reputation for instability. The original Dunne biplanes and the later success of the tailless delta configuration show that the problem was due as much to inadequate design, as to any problem inherent in the tailless configuration.The solution usually adopted is to provide large elevator and/or elevon
Elevon
Elevons are aircraft control surfaces that combine the functions of the elevator and the aileron , hence the name. They are frequently used on tailless aircraft such as flying wings. An elevon that is not part of the main wing, but instead is a separate tail surface, is a stabilator...
(combined elevator and aileron) surfaces on the wing trailing edge. These must generate large control forces, as their distance from the aerodynamic center is small. Consequently, when maneuvring, a tailless type may suffer higher drag than the conventional equivalent, even though it has less drag in level flight. High maneuvrability demands high control moments (force times "lever arm" distance), and the short lever arm inherent in tailless types means they are not as manoeuvrable as their conventional equivalents.
J. W. Dunne
John William Dunne
John William Dunne FRAeS was an Anglo-Irish aeronautical engineer and author. In the field of parapsychology, he achieved a preeminence through his theories on dreams and authoring books preoccupied with the question of the nature of time...
developed a series of tailless aircraft characterised by having swept wings. In his book An Experiment with Time
An Experiment with Time
An Experiment with Time is a long essay by the Irish aeronautical engineer J. W. Dunne on the subjects of precognition and the human experience of time. First published in March 1927, it was very widely read, and his ideas promoted by several other authors, in particular by J. B. Priestley. Other...
he claims that one of these was the first aeroplane ever to achieve natural stability in flight. Certainly, Dunne designed the first practical tailless aeroplanes. Few records of these aircraft remain.
Most of Dunne's designs were biplanes, typically featuring a fuselage nacelle between the planes, with rear-mounted 'pusher' propeller, and twin rudders between each pair of wing tips.
The D.6 monoplane of 1910 was a pusher type high-wing monoplane which featured turned-down wingtips with pronounced wash-out.
Many of Dunne's ideas on stability remain valid, and he is known to have influenced later designers such as John K. Northrop (father of the B-2 spirit
B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
stealth bomber).
Dunne gave some help initially to Geoffrey T. R. Hill
Geoffrey T. R. Hill
Professor Geoffrey Terence Roland Hill MC, M.Sc, M.I.Mech.E., FRAeS , was a British aeronautical engineer.He was a pilot with No. 29 Squadron RFC and later a test pilot during the First World War as was his brother...
who produced the Pterodactyl series of aircraft
Westland-Hill Pterodactyl
The Westland-Hill Pterodactyl series of experimental tailess or flying wing aircraft designs were developed starting in the 1920s. They are named after the genus Pterodactylus, a well-known type of Pterosaur commonly known as the pterodactyl....
from 1920s onwards which were specifically designed to reduce the likelihood of stalling and spinning.
Lippisch deltas
The German designer Alexander LippischAlexander Lippisch
Alexander Martin Lippisch was a German pioneer of aerodynamics. He made important contributions to the understanding of flying wings, delta wings and the ground effect. His most famous design is the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor.Lippisch was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria...
produced the first tailless delta design, the Delta I, in 1931. He went on to build a series of ever-more sophisticated designs, and after the Second World War went to America to continue his work.
Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet
During the Second World War, Lippisch worked for the German designer Willy MesserschmittWilly Messerschmitt
Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. He was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a wine merchant...
on the first tailless aircraft to go into production, the Me 163 Komet
Messerschmitt Me 163
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. Messerschmitt...
. It was a rocket-powered interceptor, and was the fastest aircraft to reach operational service during the war. Its rocket propulsion system was highly unsafe, especially the early versions. Landing was hazardous not only because the Komet had no wheels(after take off), but because sparks from the metal landing skid often flew up and ignited fuel vapours escaping from the propulsion system. More pilots were killed in takeoff and landing incidents than in combat.
De Havilland DH 108 Swallow
In the 1940s, the English designer Geoffrey de HavillandGeoffrey de Havilland
Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, OM, CBE, AFC, RDI, FRAeS, was a British aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer...
made a few examples of a tailless jet-powered research aircraft called the DH108 Swallow, based on the forward fuselage of the de Havilland Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
jet fighter. One of these was one of the first aircraft ever to break the sound barrier - it did so during a shallow dive, and the sonic boom was heard by several witnesses.
Dassault Mirage
The French MirageDassault Mirage III
The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...
series of supersonic jet fighters were an example of the tailless delta configuration, and became one of the most widely produced of all Western jet aircraft. By contrast the Soviet Union's equivalent widely produced delta-winged fighter, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to...
, does have a tail stabiliser.
Convair F2Y Sea Dart
In the 1950s, the Convair F2Y Sea DartF2Y Sea Dart
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Jones, Lloyd S. U.S. Fighters: Army-Air Force 1925 to 1980s. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers Inc., 1975. ISBN 0-8168-9200-0....
prototype became the only seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
ever to exceed the speed of sound. Convair built several other successful tailless delta types.
Supersonic airliners
The Anglo-French ConcordeConcorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
SST
Supersonic transport
A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
and its Soviet counterpart the Tupolev Tu-144
Tupolev Tu-144
The Tupolev Tu-144 was a Soviet supersonic transport aircraft and remains one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service, the other being the Concorde...
were tailless supersonic jet airliners, with gracefully curved ogival delta
Delta wing
The delta wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta .-Delta-shaped stabilizers:...
wings. The grace and beauty of these aircraft in flight were often remarked upon.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
The American Lockheed SR-71 BlackbirdSR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
reconnaissance aircraft was the fastest jet powered aircraft at the time it was retired, achieving speeds above Mach 3.
Northrop B-2 Spirit
The most recent tailless type to see operational service is the Northrop B-2 SpiritB-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
flying wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
. It is unstable in flight and has artificial stability provided by a fly-by-wire system.
Other tailless aircraft
- Avro 707Avro 707|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Buttler, Tony. "Avro Type 698 Vulcan ." Aeroplane, Vol. 35, No. 4, Issue No. 408, April 2007....
- research for Avro Vulcan, 1/3 scale of Vulcan - Avro CF-105 Arrow - delta wing fighter
- Avro VulcanAvro VulcanThe Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
- delta wing subsonic bomber - Boulton Paul P.111Boulton Paul P.111-See also:-Bibliography:* Brew, Alec. Boulton Paul Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1993. ISBN 0-85177-860-7.* Jones, Barry. "Boulton Paul's Dicey Deltas". Aeroplane Monthly, Vol 21 No. 2, Issue No 238. February 1993. London:IPC Magazines. ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 34–41.* Jones, Barry. British...
- delta wing research - Convair B-58 Hustler - delta wing supersonic bomber
- Convair F-102F-102 Delta DaggerThe Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was a US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets...
- Convair F-106 - delta wing supersonic fighter
- Fauvel AV.36Fauvel AV.36-References:* * -External Links:*...
and others by Charles FauvelCharles FauvelCharles Fauvel was a French aircraft designer noted for his flying wing designs, and in particular, his flying wing sailplanes... - Douglas F-4D SkyrayF4D SkyrayThe Douglas F4D Skyray was an American carrier-based supersonic fighter/interceptor built by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
- Vought F-7 CutlassF7U CutlassThe Vought F7U Cutlass was a United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter and fighter-bomber of the early Cold War era. It was a highly unusual, semi-tailless design, allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the German Arado company at the end of World War II, though Vought...
- General Dynamics F-16XL - delta wing research fighter/bomber
- Granger ArchaeopteryxGranger Archaeopteryx-Bibliography:* Guttery, T.E. The Shuttleworth Collection. London: Wm. Carling & Co, 1969. SBN 901319-01-5* Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 . London, Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0 370 10010 7...
- HAL TejasHAL TejasThe HAL Tejas is a lightweight multirole fighter developed by India. It is a tailless, compound delta-wing design powered by a single engine. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters...
- Pterodactyl PfledgePterodactyl AscenderThe Pterodactyl Ascender is a family of U.S. designed and built ultralight aircraft that were sold in kit form between 1979 and 1984 under Pterodactyl Limited and is currently being sold by DFE Ultralights....
— ultralight aircraft produced in large numbers - Saab 35 Draken - double delta supersonic fighter
- Westland-Hill PterodactylWestland-Hill PterodactylThe Westland-Hill Pterodactyl series of experimental tailess or flying wing aircraft designs were developed starting in the 1920s. They are named after the genus Pterodactylus, a well-known type of Pterosaur commonly known as the pterodactyl....
- X-44 MANTAX-44 MANTA|-References:* Miller, Jay. The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45. Hinckley, UK: Midland, 2001. ISBN 1-85780-109-1.-External links:* Day, Dwayne A. . centennialofflight.gov...
Experimental
- Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52-See also:- External links :*** at *...
- flying wing - Short SB.1Short SB.1|-References:NotesBibliography* Barnes, C.H. with revisions by James, Derek N. Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London: Putnam, 1989 . ISBN 0-85177-819-4....
(glider) and Short SB.4 Sherpa - tested aero-isoclinic wing - Handley Page ManxHandley Page Manx-See also:-Bibliography:* Barnes, Chris. "Tailess Experimental". Aeroplane Monthly, January 1980, Volume 8 No. 1. pp. 4—9.* Barnes, C. H. Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907. London: Putnam & Company, Ltd., 1987. ISBN 0-85177-803-8....
- - Handley Page HP.115Handley Page HP.115|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Barfield, Norman. "Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde." Aircraft in Profile, Volume 14. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications, 1974. ISBN 0-85383-023-1....
- low speed handling of delta wing - Fairey Delta 2Fairey Delta 2The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 was a British supersonic research aircraft produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for investigation into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds.The aircraft was the first to exceed 1000mph, and...
- high speed delta design
See also
- Movement of center of pressure
- Longitudinal static stabilityLongitudinal static stabilityLongitudinal static stability is the stability of an aircraft in the longitudinal, or pitching, plane during static conditions. This characteristic is important in determining whether an aircraft will be able to fly as intended...
- Neutral pointLongitudinal static stabilityLongitudinal static stability is the stability of an aircraft in the longitudinal, or pitching, plane during static conditions. This characteristic is important in determining whether an aircraft will be able to fly as intended...
External links
- Tailless Aircraft - discussion of design and stability.