News | 09 Sep 2011 10:25 | Stephen Trimble
As Boeing and the US Air Force commemorate 20 years since the C-17's flight debut, others can learn from its contractual legacy ...http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/C-17-delivers-20th-anniversary-lesson-for-defence-contractors-361752/News | 23 May 2011 23:00 | Stephen Trimble
The first to conquer the westbound route across the North Atlantic, the Dassault Falcon 50 defined a new standard for long range in business aviation when...http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/The-business-aircraft-that-changed-the-world-No-2-357001/News | 17 Oct 2009 08:00
Delivery of Qantas's fifth and sixth Airbus A380 have been delayed to December owing to a flight...http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/This-Week-briefing-333483/News | 25 Jul 2000 23:00
<p>Graham Warwick</p> <p>Some are small, some are big, Airbus¹s are a different shape and some Boeings have them and some don¹t. Ever wondered why?We¹re talking about winglets, of course, and the answer is a combination of style and substance.</p> <p>Winglets were first developed in the 1960s by NASA aerodynamicist Dr Richard Whitcomb. He had the idea of putting cambered and twisted endplates on a wing to improve its efficiency without increasing its span. Whitcomb also developed the "Coke bottle" area ruling that allows fighters to go supersonic and the supercritical aerofoil that allows transports to fly efficiently at high subsonic speeds.</p> <p>Winglets reduce the component of drag that is generated by lift, but increasing wing span can achieve the same effect, so designers have a choice to make. Boeing used winglets on the 747-400 because its wing couldn¹t get any longer and still fit airport gates. Learjet first used them to make its business jets look more modern, starting ahttp://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/Style-or-substance-winglets-are-part-of-modern-aviation-68669/News | 01 Jan 2000 00:00
<p>Dr Richard Whitcomb was already famous for the discovery of the "area rule" - the "coke bottle" fuselage shaping that allowed aircraft to go supersonic more efficiently - when I came to work for him at NASA. The discovery had won him the Collier Trophy, the USA's highest award for aircraft design. </p> <p>My first task, in 1962, was to assist Dick in the development of a supersonic transport known as SCAT 4. In other words, Dick said draw a line here, and I drew the line. After several weeks of this, I told him I didn't mind the drawing but I would appreciate him explaining what he was doing. From then on, Dick took me under his wing. </p> <p>In 1964, he began working on a new concept, the "supercritical aerofoil", which was to be as significant an aerodynamic contribution as the area rule. I was privileged to be his associate on this work. </p> <p>The journey began with Dick's idea for a fixed, single-slotted flap that was deployed in the cruise. With this concept, he successfulhttp://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/My-view-Micky-Blackwell-Former-President-of-Lockheed-Martins-Aeronautical-Sector-60472/