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Transonic
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=== Changes in aircraft=== Initially, [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics|NACA]] designed "dive flaps" to help stabilize the plane when reaching transonic flight.<ref name=":35" /> This small flap on the underside of the plane slowed the plane to prevent shock waves, but this design only delayed finding a solution to aircraft flying at supersonic speed.<ref name=":35" /> Newer wind tunnels were designed, so researchers could test newer wing designs without risking test pilots' lives.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|date=2000β2006|title=From Engineering Science to Big Science: The NACA and NASA Collier Trophy Research Project Winners. Pamela E. Mack|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/384834|journal=Isis|volume=91|issue=2|pages=417β418|doi=10.1086/384834|issn=0021-1753|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The slotted-wall transonic tunnel was designed by NASA and allowed researchers to test wings and different [[airfoil]]s in transonic airflow to find the best wingtip shape for sonic speeds.<ref name=":4" /> After [[World War II]], major changes in aircraft design were seen to improve transonic flight.<ref name=":23" /> The main way to stabilize an aircraft was to reduce the speed of the airflow around the wings by changing the [[Chord (aeronautics)|chord]] of the plane wings, and one solution to prevent transonic waves was swept wings.<ref name=":35" /> Since the airflow would hit the wings at an angle, this would decrease the wing thickness and chord ratio.<ref name=":35" /> Airfoils wing shapes were designed flatter at the top to prevent shock waves and reduce the distance of airflow over the wing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hicks|first1=Raymond M.|last2=Vanderplaats|first2=Garret N.|last3=Murman|first3=Earll M.|last4=King|first4=Rosa R.|date=1 February 1976|title=Airfoil Section Drag Reduction at Transonic Speeds by Numerical Optimization|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4271/760477|journal=SAE Technical Paper Series|volume=1|location=Warrendale, PA|publisher=SAE International|doi=10.4271/760477|hdl=2060/19760009938|s2cid=118185921 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Later on, Richard Whitcomb designed the first [[supercritical airfoil]] using similar principles.<ref name=":4" />
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