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"The primary advantage of the delta wing design is that the wing's leading edge remains behind the shock wave generated by the nose of the aircraft when flying at supersonic speeds, which is an improvement on traditional wing designs."
Isn't this just a matter of the sweep rather than the delta planform? For example, the English Electric Lightning and MiG-19 have rather severe leading edge angles for this reason, even though they are not deltas. -- Paul Richter 09:52, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
The delta wing has much the same advantage as the swept wing: primarily a delay of critical Mach of 1/cos(angle of sweep)
The wing is as if it were flying at reduced speed, reduced Mach number, and reduced dynamic pressure.
effective speed = V cos(L) effective Mach = M cos(L) effective q = 0.5 rho V^2 [cos(L)]^2
where L is the sweep angle, V the airplane's speed and M its Mach, rho the air density and q the dynamic pressure.
The dynamic pressure term shows that the wing will have not only reduced drag but also reduced lift since:
Lift = Cl x A x q where Cl is the coefficient of lift and A the Area Drag = Cd x A x q where Cd is the coefficient of drag and A the Area
Suppose a swing wing aircraft is flying at its critical Mach number. If the wing then is swept back from 0 to L degrees the lift reduces by a factor of [cos(L)]^2, and the Mach compressibility effects on the wing's airfoils decrease eg shock wave formation. It is then possible to increase the speed by a factor of 1/cos(L).
These are simplifications for a swept wing; deltas are similar but far more complicated in real life due to the formation of vortices at the leading edge root that has a positive influence on handling and lift.
I don't know why Dr Alexander Lippisch is not mentioned in regards to the Delta wing: he had developed flyable swept wings in the 1930s and 1940s and proposed a surpersonic delta in 1940. In 1945 his DM-1 glider was shipped to the USA for study. His P.13a represents perhaps the first proposal to develop a supersonic delta.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Frederick Munster (talk • contribs)
The explanation of the canard in the 3rd paragraph is a bit confusing. I've cleaned up the language a bit, but the point is still unclear. Attributing designs incorporating canards to unstable platforms and FBW doesn't seem accurate. The F-117 and F-16 are inherently unstable and neither have canards. FBW and instability (due to more radical, effective designs) do exist symbiotically these days, but that is independent of canard use. While the EF-2000, Rafale, etc. are more advanced designs and use canards, that has more to do with the increased effectiveness of delta-wing aircraft with canards, not necessarily instability or FBW.--Jonashart 20:13, 27 July 2006 (UTC)Reply
The article seems to alternate between historical ordering and description.
Perhaps the better structure would be:
Claims that Kazimierz Siemienowicz had pioneered delta wings had been rejected [1] before, but were re-introduced once again [2], giving e.g. a NASA source that says .... proposed ... delta-shaped stabilizers to replace the guiding rods.... These stabilizers are simple fins, as on an arrow, not large lift-creating wings for a supersonic airplane. The sources do not back up the claim "Conception of this wing and its name" and the addition to Category:Polish inventions. -- Matthead Discuß 11:09, 20 July 2009 (UTC)Reply
This sentence seems to be complete rubbish:
"Pure delta-wings fell out of favour somewhat due to their undesirable characteristics, notably flow separation at high angles of attack"
Flow separation at a high angle of attack is exactly what is desirable....
Flow separation will always occur over a wing at a certain angle of attack. The higher the better...
This needs to be deleted or changed. Jez 006 (talk) 16:35, 15 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
Glad you agree. It is the case that pure delta wings experience flow separation at lower angles of attack than double delta wings, delta wings with canards or delta wings with a chinard configuration, but this is not what has been written! I'll change it soon Jez 006 (talk) 11:03, 18 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
It seems this paragraph is mostly incorrect as well:
"Another advantage is that as the angle of attack increases the leading edge of the wing generates a vortex which remains attached to the upper surface of the wing, giving the delta a very high stall angle. A normal wing built for high speed use is typically dangerous at low speeds, but in this regime the delta changes over to a mode of lift based on the vortex it generates. The disadvantages, especially marked in the older tailless delta designs, are a loss of total available lift caused by turning up the wing trailing edge or the control surfaces (as required to achieve a sufficient stability) and the high induced drag of this low-aspect ratio type of wing. This causes delta-winged aircraft to 'bleed off' energy very rapidly in turns, a disadvantage in aerial maneuver combat and dogfighting. This can be solved with relaxed stability, strakes and canards.[citation needed]"
For example:
"Another advantage is that as the angle of attack increases the leading edge of the wing generates a vortex which remains attached to the upper surface of the wing, giving the delta a very high stall angle"
As the angle of attack increases from what? It remains attached until when? Yes they generally have a higher stalling angle than conventional aerofoils but just to say a "very high stall angle" is pretty misleading... What defines a " very high" stall angle?
"A normal wing built for high speed use is typically dangerous at low speeds, but in this regime the delta changes over to a mode of lift based on the vortex it generates"
Delta wings are especially dangerous at low speeds, more so than normal wings. At lower speeds delta wings produce less lift and more drag than normal wings... This is why delta wings are more difficult to land, because at low speeds they experience a sudden loss in lift. This is why the concorde had such a high landing speed.
"The disadvantages, especially marked in the older tailless delta designs, are a loss of total available lift caused by turning up the wing trailing edge or the control surfaces (as required to achieve a sufficient stability) and the high induced drag of this low-aspect ratio type of wing. This causes delta-winged aircraft to 'bleed off' energy very rapidly in turns, a disadvantage in aerial maneuver combat and dogfighting. This can be solved with relaxed stability, strakes and canards.[citation needed]"
I can't agree or disagree with this, but there are no references. Since the previous sentences are not correct I doubt the accuracy of anything else that has been written.
Jez 006 (talk) 11:59, 18 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
"It also causes a reduction in lift at takeoff and landing until the correct angle of attack is achieved, this means that the rear undercarriage must be more strongly built than with a conventional wing." what does a more strongly built undercarriage have to do with compensating for reduced lift? please modify article to explain thanks 24.98.133.72 (talk) 04:19, 18 August 2014 (UTC)Reply
I have read everything I could find on Conrad Haas and nowhere does it say he investigated or experimented with wings of any kind. All the documents ever talk about is triangular fins. I'm sure someone is going to tell me wings and fins are one and the same. They're not. All fins do is line up into the wind behind the center of gravity. The whole purpose and function of a wing is different. Wings support the weight of the air vehicle to which they are attached, and they do it specifically by not lining up into the wind but by assuming a non-zero angle across the wind vector so as to deflect air downward, lift being the "equal and opposite reaction" to the downward deflection of the air. So what the heck does Conrad Haas have to do with the invention of the delta wing? You don't need to know anything about flight trim to make a fin work, but if you don't know flight trim, you don't know the aerodynamics of winged flight. Sorry Conrad, but you did not invent the delta wing. Maybe it was the butterfly that just landed on your shoulder.Magneticlifeform (talk) 01:23, 20 October 2010 (UTC)Reply
Wings and fins are one and the same. While the purpose of a fin is different from a wing, its function is the same. It lines up behind the CG because any disturbance from that position puts it at a non-zero angle across the wind vector (angle of attack) such that it creates a force normal to the wind vector (lift) in a direction that returns it to its original position behind the CG. Since a fin is a wing, any R&D on fins is therefore relevant to wings. Vessbot (talk) 03:07, 2 October 2014 (UTC)Reply
Found some very good and concise, seemingly very legit info on deltas (and other wings) here: http://aerostudents.com/files/advancedAircraftDesign/AdvancedAircraftDesign2Summary.pdf . Can someone tell me if this is okay for a reference? Seems legit to me, and very balanced and fair, factual. .45Colt 01:41, 14 April 2014 (UTC)Reply
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The homebuild machine which Scroggs named "The Last laugh" is not a delta type because a large chunk of its nose is missing, it is more a low-aspect-ratio straight wing with angled tips. Just because Scroggs also worked on a delta version does not make this one a Delta. His own account and those derived from it, such as journal pieces, are not reliable sources. If this plane is to be included here then far better sourcing is necessary to verify the claim that it is a delta design. — Cheers, Steelpillow (Talk) 16:40, 2 July 2018 (UTC)Reply
The US also used an ogival design for the Space Shuttle, which was flown in to land as an aircraft. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.218.129.127 (talk) 09:29, 20 July 2019 (UTC)Reply
I'm a bit surprised that we don't have any photos of aircraft from two manufacturers known for producing delta-wing aircraft, Convair and Dassault. Both produced several types, both fighters and bombers. I've looked around for good shots of some of their aircraft that show the deltas to good effect, but Commons isn't very user friendly for that type of search, so I didn't find any I liked. Hopefully someone else with some extra time can find a couple of good ones. I have in mind one photo of a fighter, and one of a bomber, hopefully one from each manufacturer. - BilCat (talk) 16:31, 15 April 2020 (UTC)Reply
My understanding is that the Convair XF-92 is the first jet delta to actually fly, so how is it that it isn't deemed significant enough to even be mentioned on this page? Not even a "See Also" link. The gist of this page seemed to be that Germans invented delta wings, the French and British and Swedes quickly copied them, producing test deltas by the late 40s and production ones by the mid 50s, while at some undefined point the Americans came up with the F-102 and F-106 and B-58. "History of the delta wing" mentions German work, French work, it mentions the Avro 707 and the Vulcan, but nothing at all about the first delta to actually fly. Seems like it merits a least a footnote or something.
64.222.126.103 (talk) 19:13, 18 July 2022 (UTC)Reply
I was told to create this, I think the maneuverability section should stay up and that the only unsourced part of sustained maneuverability is a mathematical conclusion thus shouldn’t need sourcing Bobisland (talk) 15:15, 11 October 2022 (UTC)Reply
“The conclusion that such a delta is more manoeuvrable due to its inherently low wing loading is false“ I said supersonic maneuverability in comparison to swept wing aircraft which is true, this doesn’t mean literally all which is implied, the other things I’ve already mentioned and I don’t know why you removed them as they’re well sourced and salvageable, this includes the poor low speed performance, low aspect ratio, structural strength, surface area and drag effecting speed when turning and etc Bobisland (talk) 19:35, 11 October 2022 (UTC)Reply
i think it would be nice to include his design, feels more coherent than earlier proposals, it actually includes a chassis and uses a canard and delta configuration https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:1.909.-_Planos_del_Aeroplano-Monoplano_Causar%C3%A1s.jpg You could say it's an evolution of the J.W. Butler and E. Edwards designs but their dual delta platform is quite not the same, if not almost the opposite. https://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/butler.html
A 3D model is seen here: https://causaras.blogspot.com/2014/?m=1 Mirad1000 (talk) 16:59, 16 April 2023 (UTC)Reply