🚀 go-pugleaf

>From: weltyc%cieunix@rpics.arpa (Christopher A. Welty)
>
>   The new technology represented in the advanced forward swept
>wing aircraft (X-29) seems very interesting.  Does anyone know exactly
>what the advantages of the forward swept wing are and how the
>technology may be applied to the next generation space plane?
>
>                   -Chris


There are several advantages of a forward swept wing (FSW) over an aft
swept wing (ASW).  Among these are

   o Improved performance at high angles of attack.  For the ASW flow
     separation occurs at the wing tip and degrades the responsiveness
     of the control surfaces.  Flow separation on a FSW occurs inboard
     and generally never reaches the tip.  This allows for higher roll
     rates than would be possible with an ASW.

   o While wing sweep, either fore or aft, postpones the drag rise near
     Mach 1, a FSW has a lower wing profile drag than a ASW.  Therefore,
     one can obtain higher lift coefficients under transonic conditions.
     This translates into a greater payload capacity for a given aspect
     ratio.

Of course the major disadvantage of a FSW is it's desire to bend.  The
major contribution of the X-29 is the knowledge which has been gained on
the manufacturing and use of composites which can be tailored to the
aeroelastic bending.

 H. Thomas Sharp  (TSHARP@BROWNVM.ARPA)
 Division of Applied Mathematics
 Brown University