In 1952, Dr. R.T. Jones~10 proved that for any flight Mach number minimum drag at a fixed lift is achieved by an elliptic planform wing with an appropriate oblique sweep angle. Since thenm, wind tunnel tests and numerical flow models have confirmed that the compressibility drag of obliquely swept wings is lower than symmetrically swept designs of similar span. Recently, aircraft designers have been studying an oblique flying wing configuration for use as a supersonic transport which will carry 400 passengers inside its wing structure at a cruise speed of Mach 1.6. Stability and control issues are a major challenge for this design because the aircraft is highly asymmetric in cruise and the use of efficient airfoil shapes require that the oblique flying wing be aerodynamically unstable about the wing's spanwise axis. Active control compensation is required over the entire flight envelope and the design of suitable control systems is complicated by a lack of control authority inherent to the all-wing design.
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