Swept Wings
In the context of aerospace engineering, 'Swept Wings' refer to the wings of an aircraft that are set at an angle to its fuselage rather than sticking straight out at a right angle. The design of swept wings is a crucial aspect of high-speed flight performance. The sweep of a wing is determined by the angle between a line drawn from the root to the tip of the wing and a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. The primary advantage of swept wings is their ability to delay the onset of wave drag, which becomes significant as an aircraft approaches the speed of sound. This allows the aircraft to fly at high subsonic, transonic, or supersonic speeds, which would not be possible with straight wings. However, swept wings also have some disadvantages, such as a tendency to stall at the wingtips first, which can lead to a dangerous spin. Therefore, careful design and control strategies are required to mitigate these risks.
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