PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Was the Lightning really THAT good ?
View Single Post
Old 22nd Sep 2014, 12:03
  #103 (permalink)  
LowObservable
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Far West Wessex
Posts: 2,580
Received 4 Likes on 2 Posts
The F-106 was maxed at M=2.0 in service.

http://www.f-106deltadart.com/manual...06A%201964.pdf

Shaft109 - The Area Rule had not been formulated when the Lightning was designed (and as the above-cited document shows, the Lightning as we know it was basically designed by 1951) but someone involved was clearly aware of the need to avoid a clash between peak body cross-section and the wing, and knew it would be beneficial to have a near-constant-section body and a swept wing.

It might have been Multhopp, who after his RAE days went to the USA and helped design a bomber with two engines in front of the wing and one behind it.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/fac...et.asp?id=2663

(Seriously, you could paint the XB-51 blue and green with black crosses and fool anyone.)

However, once the Area Rule was defined, it was recognized that the cross-section could be adjusted and the Lightning grew its belly tank. I have no idea about the T.4/T.5 but it smells a bit of urban legend.
LowObservable is offline