

Air Force teamed with NASA for a joint program to test a SCW designed for highly maneuverable military aircraft. NASA's test program validating the SCW concept was conducted at the Dryden Flight Research Center from March 1971 to May 1973 and showed that the SCW installed on an F-8 Crusader test aircraft increased transonic efficiency by as much as 15%.īefore the program ended, the U.S. The SCW is flatter on the top, rounded on the bottom, and the upper trailing edge is accented with a downward curve to restore lift lost by flattening the upper surface.Īt speeds in the transonic range - just below and just above the speed of sound - the SCW delays the formation of the supersonic shock wave on the upper wing surface and reduces its strength, allowing the aircraft to fly faster with less effort. (NASA Photo E73-3468)Ĭalled the supercritical airfoil, the design has led to development of the supercritical wings (SCW) now used worldwide on business jets, airliners and transports, and numerous military aircraft.Ĭonventional wings are rounded on top and flat on the bottom.

Supercritical wings add a graceful appearance to the modified NASA F-8 test aircraft. Send us feedback.An airfoil considered unconventional when tested in the early 1970s by NASA at the Dryden Flight Research Center is now universally recognized by the aviation industry as a wing design that increases flying efficiency and helps lower fuel costs. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'airfoil.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

2020 Erickson engineers based this design partly on a late 1990s rotor- airfoil NASA study.Įric Tegler, Popular Mechanics, 9 Mar. Nyamekye Daniel, Washington Examiner, 23 Oct. 2021 Pratt & Whitney, which is a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp., plans to construct a 1 million-square-foot, high-tech turbine airfoil production facility.
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Boyne And Alex Hollings, Popular Mechanics, The largest hurdle in the progression of VAWT designs is the lack of a proper airfoil shape and troubles with the braking systems, which drive unit costs up.Īriel Cohen, Forbes, How wind moves a boat: A sail full of wind forms an airfoil and propels the boat with lift, the way a plane’s wing does (except across water, rather than into the air).Ĭaleb Paine, Popular Mechanics, 30 Mar. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 3 June 2021 While the wing's orientation is important, the airfoil design, or the shape of the wing's profile viewed from the side-on, might be even more so. 2021 The horizontal airfoil surface of the tail group is about the size of the wing of a small bomber.

2021 The curved rim on a Frisbee acts as an airfoil, which generates lift almost like an airplane wing.ĭavid Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Aug. Recent Examples on the Web Lacking an airfoil, the coaster twists from horizontal to vertical, quickly negating any chance at maintaining a Frisbee-like trajectory.ĭavid Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Aug.
