- Trapezoidal wing
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Lockheed F-22 Raptor
The trapezoidal or diamond wing is a high-performance wing configuration. It is a short (low aspect ratio) tapered wing having little or no overall sweep, such that the leading edge sweeps back and the trailing edge sweeps forwards. The trapezoidal design allows for a thin wing with low drag at high speeds, while maintaining high strength and stiffness. To date, all major aircraft to use this design have come from the United States.
Contents
History
Early examples provided a solution to the problem of supersonic flight when engine power was limited. The wing of the Douglas X-3 Stiletto was extremely small and thin, giving low drag at supersonic speeds. The principle was adopted for various other X-planes and for Lockheed's widely-produced F-104 Starfighter high-speed, high-altitude interceptor. Lockheed used the design on many of its aircraft proposals in the 1950s, including the Lockheed CL-400 Suntan and early versions of their supersonic transport designs.
The small wing of the Starfighter was found to have good gust response at low level, providing a smooth ride at high subsonic speeds. Consequently the type was adopted for the ground-attack role, notably by the German Luftwaffe. However the small size of the wing also meant high take-off and landing speeds with minimal stability or control, and many pilots were killed during takeoff and landing accidents.
More recently, a larger and less highly loaded variant has been found to provide good all-round speed, load carrying and maneuvering characteristics for modern combat fighters such as the Lockheed F-22 Raptor and others. Its inherent light weight has also led to its adoption for the VTOL-capable F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
Examples
X-planes
Military planes
- F-104 Starfighter
- Lockheed F-22 Raptor
- Northrop YF-23
- F-35 Lightning II
- YF-22
Civil planes
See also
Categories:- Aircraft configurations
- Aircraft wing design
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