Aviation Stack Exchange
Aviation Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [wing-sweep]

Angle of a line from root to tip, 25% of the way back from the leading edge, measured from the perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.

73 questions
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What is the aerodynamic benefit of trailing edge sweep?

Sweep will allow flight at higher speed because the perpendicular air flow speed (over wing) is less. But why is there trailing edge sweep? We can have a swept leading edge and unswept trailing edge to produce elliptical lift distribution. Also,…
Selva
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Why does wing bending cause wingtip twisting?

(semanticscholar.org) When aft swept wings bend/flex, the outer wing is twisted leading edge (LE) down (this reduces wave drag), the reverse (LE up) is true for forward swept wings. I've searched the site and googled it, but I wasn't able to arrive…
user14897
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Taper sweep angle

Is the Taper sweep angle the same as the sweep angle? So I know that the sweep angle is the angle from the vertical line from the leading edge to leading edge wing line.
Mags
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How can the F-15 and Su-27 achieve a high top speed without variable wing geometry?

I watched a documentary once that explained, I believe, how the Su-27 and similar aircraft such as the F-15, can achieve a high top speed without variable wing geometry. How does this work? How do they achieve high performance without swept wings in…
AlphaCentauri
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Why don't commercial airliners use variable sweep wings?

I know they're not used in military aircraft because it decreases the stealth factor, but why don't commercial plane manufacturers make variable sweep planes?
Carsen Wastell
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If sweep delays compressibility, why does 747 cruise slower than A380?

B747 has a sweep angle of 37 deg and A380 has a sweep angle of 33 deg. If the main reason for sweep is to delay compressibility effects and increase operating Mach number, why does B747 cruise at a lower speed than A380?
RNG
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