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From: kallis@pen.DEC
Newsgroups: net.aviation
Subject: More on Flying Wings
Message-ID: <2854@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Jun-85 11:19:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.2854
Posted: Mon Jun 24 11:19:56 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Jun-85 05:48:35 EDT
Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP
Organization: DEC Engineering Network
Lines: 90

>Subject: Re: \"Was It Something I Said\", et al. (Flying Wing)

>Posted: Thu Jun 20 10:28:41 1985



>> On the subject of "most beautiful aircraft," I can think of only

>> one *family* of aircraft that this applies to from an aesthetic

>> standpoint: the Northrop Flying Wings.  There were several technical

>> reasons these aircraft didn't "take hold," but looking at them in 

>> flight, they were beautiful [...]

>> for sheer beauty (and a sort of timelessness: the basic configuration 

>>is as ancient/modern as an eagle), you can't touch a Flying Wing, in my 

>>opinion.

> 

>> Steve Kallis, Jr.



>I have seen some footage of the Flying Wing and read that the

>demise was more a political (DoD politics) one than a technical one.

>What were the technical reasons you mention?  Are these reasons also

>why we don't see experimental kit flying wings?

>--

>E. Michael Smith  ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems

 

According to Theodor von Karaman, probably the greatest aerodynamicist 

going, the Northrop Flying Wings were excellent for low-speed flight.  

However, at the time, the Air Force was looking for aircraft with a

thin wing section fo transonic/supersonic flight, and the Flying Wing

*had* to have a thick cross-section.  Please note that the N1M was under-

going tests in the late 30s; it's not surprising nobody was concerned 

about transonic flight.



From what I've read, there also was a political (DoD) decision on 

discontinuing development on it.



A few people made Flying Wing homebuilts, but they're .. interesting 

aircraft to fly.  The stall characteristics are gentle, but if you put 

one into a spin, watch out!



But one great advantage of a Flying Wing was that the lift was 

distributed across the entire surface of the aircraft (*all* of it was a 

lifting body, after all), so the internal (structural) stress per 

maneuver was less than with an aircraft with a conventional fuselage.



Steve Kallis, Jr.