Grumman X-29

A failed experiment.

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By: Jimy Ordonez, Journalist

The Grumman X-29 was a experiment to test a forward swept wing. This means that the wings were placed backwards, It reached speeds of 1,100 mph and weighed an astonishing 13,800 pounds. The Grumman company take credit for this jet, they took it for a test run and noticed that the jet was incredibly unstable. The way that they placed the wings did not go well with the center of gravity and made it unstable. Sadly the Grumman X-29 was discontinued due to risk of failure and instability.  The Grumman X-29 wasn’t the U.S,s idea, during World War II, both Nazi Germany and the United States tried flying with forward-swept wings, but they ran into difficulties. In particular, metal wings could bend dangerously, especially at higher speeds. The Defense innovative Research Projects Agency also known as the DARPA and the US Air Force worked together to create the X-29. It used very specific and clever materials to create lightweight and extremely strong wing structures. The X-29 shows Quickness even at high speeds together with a forward swept wings. But it also had aerodynamic instability, the X-29 and pilot needed the help of a computer to balance out the unstability. The Grumman X-29 is currently on exhibit in the Research and Development Gallery at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio’s National Museum of the United States Air Force.

 

Related Stories

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_X-29

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/grumman-x-29-nasa-darpa-fighter-plane/index.html

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/meet-grumman-x-29%E2%80%93-almost-unnatural-design-fighter-jet-163804

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/grumman-x-29-nasa-darpa-fighter-plane/index.html

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/meet-grumman-x-29%E2%80%93-almost-unnatural-design-fighter-jet-163804

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