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Lent by Langley Research Center
The original X-1 of 1947 had straight wings and horizontal stabilizer at
its tail whereas this painted wood spin tunnel model shows the latter
with a swept wing elevator. In the aftermath of WWII extensive research
was completed on the concept of swept wing for supersonic flight.
Sweeping of the wings allowed the aircraft to travel faster than
straight wings or surfaces. Many new configurations were studied to
improve the flight characteristics of the original X-1 configuration.
These studies led to the X-1A and X-1B aircraft.
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