Nose Angles

Delta Wing Jets vs. Delta Kites

On jet aircraft "delta" wings are different from "swept" wings, but both are described as having their wing's leading edges "swept back" by X degrees. On jet aircraft (within limits) the greater the angle of sweep, the more radical the wing.

Sweep Angle vs Nose Angle
Examples
Nose AnglesSweep Angles
90º45º
95º42.5º
98º41º
100º40º
106º37º
109º35.5º
120º30º

 

The bigger the nose angle, the more radical the wing

Delta kites are usually described as having a nose angle of Y degrees, which is the included angle between the leading edges in the flat two dimensional plan, as drawn on paper. Wings with higher nose angles are more radical, in that high nose angle deltas can be very tricky to get to work, and when they do, they might have a narrow wind speed envelope within which they fly stably - yet they can be designed to reach the steepest flying angles. Narrow nose angle deltas fly over a wider range of wind speeds, have better pitch and yaw stability, and more wing area per weight of frame, but they don't quite manage the very steepest flying angles. Kites in the 96 to 98 or 100º range are usually good all-rounders.


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