K_Jameson
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These wings so curved suggest an idea: to fold it around the body of the spaceplane during the ascent, and to deploy it only for the reentry and the landing.
Seriously, I think that a curvature so marked will affect the lift generated by the wing. I guess that a significative portion of the wing should have a much more modest dihedral, if not 0°, instead of this enormous positive dihedral.
No offense intended! It's a really cool spacecraft.
EDIT
Also, I think that such a dihedral could work better in negative, rather than positive, allowing to exploit the "compression lift" effect, as in the North American XB-70 Valkyrie. This could lead to a substantial improvement in the lift/drag ratio at high velocities, allowing a larger cross-range.
Seriously, I think that a curvature so marked will affect the lift generated by the wing. I guess that a significative portion of the wing should have a much more modest dihedral, if not 0°, instead of this enormous positive dihedral.
No offense intended! It's a really cool spacecraft.
EDIT
Also, I think that such a dihedral could work better in negative, rather than positive, allowing to exploit the "compression lift" effect, as in the North American XB-70 Valkyrie. This could lead to a substantial improvement in the lift/drag ratio at high velocities, allowing a larger cross-range.
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