As you have probably already seen, there are many different types or appearances of wings. Such as the delta wing, swept forward wing, and the conventional straight wing. In this article you will hear, or rather see what benefits or disadvantages each type can bring.

First off I shall begin with listing off all the types of wings there are (what I could find). Conventional Straight Wings as mentioned above, Swept-back Wings, Swept-forward Wings, Delta Wings, Variable Sweep Wing, and lastly, the Flying Wing. As with all these different types, they all have their functions, purposes and benefits.

The conventional straight wing is wings that extend at exactly or almost exactly 90 degrees from the fuselage. These can be seen in early biplanes where two were directly above or under one another with the fuselage of the plane in between and in monoplanes.

A 1920 biplane, wonder if it can still fly....

The swept-back wings could be the most common type of wings for fighter aircraft because of its angle where it meets the fuselage. This design reduces drag between transitions to different Mach levels. This type of wing also delays the formation of shock waves during the Mach levels. As with this advantage, it can also provide more maneuverability and agility in the air. But there are also definite disadvantages.

"A major disadvantage of swept wings is that there is a spanwise flow along the wing, and the boundary layer will thicken toward the wingtips for sweepback and toward the roots (the part of the wing closest to the fuselage) for sweep-forward. In the case of sweepback, there is an early separation and stall of the wingtip sections and the ailerons lose their roll control effectiveness." source: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Theories_of_Flight/Transonic_Wings/TH20.htm

The spanwise flow may be reduced by using "stall fences", which are thin plates parallel fuselage of the plane. Using these fences the boundary layer buildup over the ailerons is prevented. Wing twist is another possible solution for this problem.

A Su-37 Super Flanker heading to an unknown destination

Swept-forward wings are, well, its self explanatory. Wings that point forward instead of back towards the engines and the rear. These wings are usually positioned near the end of the aircraft and canards (tiny wings in the front) are also usually included.

The X-29, looks like it's flying backwards.

The delta wings are wings similar to a triangle when viewed from a bird's eye view. It occupies most of the plane's fuselage. They have a swept-forward angle in the beginning and straight/nearly straight at the end of the wing. Sometimes occupying as much as two thirds of the plane, it is also quite practical. The Avro Arrow, Dassault Rafale, the Eurofighter all apply this design.

A delta winged Gripen in flight

The variable swept wings are basically swept-back wings except it can change position between swept-back and straight. For example, the F-14 Tomcat and Mig-23 uses this technology.

Two F-14 Tomcats with variable wings swept back

A flying wing however is quite different. A plane with flying wings has an appearance of a... flying wing. It is basically a swept-back wing that extends immediately from the nose of the plane all the way to the engines from the center of the aircraft. It gives it the look of a large wing that suddenly took flight. An example of this is the B-2 Spirit.

The Spirit of the B-2 flying wing

[under construction]
Copyright Steven Lee 2004