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Old 05-08-2002, 10:19 AM
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Ollie
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Default Forward swept wing?

With good engineering,"Form follows function." What we have here is a form in search of function.

The swept forward wings and tail booms mounted near the wing tips will put enormous torsional loads on the wing structure, especially during maneuvers involving elevator control deflection. The configuration will be difficult to control in roll because of the very large roll moment of inertia and the inboard ailerons. It will have negative roll stability which puts constant demands on roll control requiring gyros or some other automatic device to overcome the designed-in instability. The cranked wing planform will tend to stall at both the root and tip. The forward sweep results in the need for longer tail booms located near the tips thus, increasing the mass were it will do the most harm.

In aircraft design, novelty, in and of itself, is not a virtue. Novelty has its place when it results in improved functionality.