First Delta-Wing Fighter Was a Reptile

[seriousstan]

The triangular delta-wing shape found on many modern fighter jets was used by a small reptile to glide between trees 225 million years ago, a new study suggests.

Sharovipteryx mirabilis is known from only a single fossil. It was about 8 inches long, weighed less than a tenth of a pound and lived during the late Triassic, a time when the first dinosaurs were still evolving. Scientists knew that S. mirabilis had a membrane stretched across its hind legs, which allowed it to glide, but the exact shape of this membrane and the way it was attached to the animal's body has been debated.

In a new study, Gareth Dyke, a paleontologist at the University College Dublin in Ireland, and colleagues used wind-tunnel data from modern flying lizards and computer modeling to propose a new membrane configuration for S. mirabilis, one they say is unique because it is grounded in aerodynamics.

The creature was previously the only known flying vertebrate to have a flight system dominated by its hind limbs, but the new study suggests it was also the world's first and only known delta-wing glider.




http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060718_delta_wing.html

[Hand]

1. ...

B-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber

[seriousstan]

2. An amazingly large plane. I have seen it at the Akron AF museum.

They have several planes displayed UNDER it.

[Ready4Change]

3. Much larger than many would think.

One of only two built. The other was destroyed by an accident during a formation flight for publicity photos. Designed to be a Mach 3 delivery vehicle for nuclear bombs, but by the time the program reached fruition ICBMs had rendered it moot.