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Icons of Aviation History: Boeing X-29
In the 1980s, experiments were begun with a radical new aircraft design–the forward-swept wing. This odd-looking configuration promised a number of aerodynamic benefits. However, these benefi…
It wasn’t until the 1980s, with the advent of new efficient manufacturing methods for advanced computer-designed carbon-fiber composite panels, that it finally became possible to conduct full-scale experiments with forward-swept wings. The Soviets began work on their Berkut project in 1983, but with the collapse of the USSR in 1989 and subsequent lack of funding for the Russian Air Force, only one Su-47 was built, and it did not fly until 1997. In the end, it was concluded that the forward-swept design did not offer sufficient aerodynamic advantages that could not be produced by cheaper and less complicated methods like thrust-vectored engines, canards, and advanced fly-by-wire systems.
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