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What Happened to Flying Wings? (2022x4)

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At the start of the 1940’s, flying wing aircraft seemed destined to be the next evolution in aircraft design. By eliminating structural components typically found on conventional aircraft, such as engine nacelles, fuselage and tail, parasitic drag would be reduced down to its absolute minimum. The result would be a high-lift, low-drag aircraft with unequaled speed, range and efficiency. Despite earlier efforts around the world to develop all-wing aircraft designs, arguably no single person was more committed to the concept than pioneering American aircraft designer Jack Northrop. Beginning in the 1920’s Northrop studied the concept, drawing up countless designs for flying wing aircraft. By 1940, he had successfully produced two prototypes, the Model 1 (“X216H”) in 1929 and the Northrop N-1M in 1940. But Northrop’s ambitions went far beyond just experimental planes. Responding to an urgent need for the United States to develop the first ever intercontinental bomber, in 1941 Northrop p