| Warren Barry, e-mail, 09.04.2009 12:18 The Incredidble Jimmy Doolittle flew this plane for Vincent Burnelli for a safety competition. If you notice the anti-stall endplates, you'll then notice the hollow (dark space) area behind the leading edge; this is actually the leading edge in its fully extended mode. Both leading and trailing edges extended outward and downward from their original position, giving the wing more lifting area, as well as camber. Doolittle had nothing but praise for the handling and safety features. Burnelli invented body lift, and even blended body and wing. He kept mainly to his lifting body designs, as the flat sides of his airfoil cross-sectioned bodies maintained directional stability, as well as keeping the high-pressure air curling over the top and eliminating body lift. It's worth one's time to study the history of Vincent Burnelli, a brilliant aeronautical engineer from Texas. reply |
