Secret Projects

This brilliant new volume provides a comprehensive history of flying wings and tailless aircraft. Beginning with an analysis of the advantages of the flying wing, the author looks at why aerodynamicists have been attracted to this unique configuration since the earliest days of manned flight, highlighting a range of specific aircraft and relevant examples. Many aviation enthusiasts will delight in discovering the more intimate developmental details of familiar aircraft including the famous early glider Junkers and other World War I flying wing biplane designs. Other examples developed in the years leading up to World War II include the Hortens and Lippisch in Germany and the Northrop in the U.S. Following this conflict, a number of British flying wings were developed, and the concept was crucial to the design of the Vulcan and Javelin. During the Cold War era the U.S. developed a range of aircraft using this versatile technology, with the Northrop B-2 and A-12, oblique wing, blended wing, and supersonic designs. This book also examines the array of modern day stealth technology, with a detailed glimpse at the many experimental blended wing designs, which never saw the light of day.