In this photo taken 50 years ago in 1973, a Vought TF-8A Crusader flies with NASA's experimental supercritical wing. The airfoil design increased cruising speed and fuel efficiency, and is now used on nearly every modern commercial aircraft. @NASAaero
F-8 Supercritical Wing Background In the early 1960s, Richard T. Whitcomb, chief of the Transonic Aerodynamics Branch, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, conducted exploratory research that led to the invention and patent of the NASA Supercritical…
