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The new Penicuik Academy (Penicuik High School) was not long finished when James Arnot Hamilton (born 1925) became Dux of the school and stood for a photograph on the steps outside. He became a young engineer in Britain's innovative post-war aeronautics industry where he specialised in wing design, and the wing for the supersonic Concorde was the peak of his achievement. Co-ordinated work on a British supersonic airliner began in 1956. After prolonged design and testing, and agreement to share development with France in 1963, the first Concordes entered passenger service in 1976. The fleet finally retired in 2003.
The ultra slim delta wing on Concorde gives the appearance of total simplicity. But probably no other part of the aircraft had so much time and attention given to its design. On a traditional wing there can be well over 50 moveable parts to control and trim the aircraft and complex flaps and leading edge slats to generate extra lift at slower speeds. Concorde has none of this. The Concorde delta wing only has 6 trailing edge "elevons" to control the pitch and roll of the aircraft. As flying speeds have increased, more "sweepback" has been seen in wing designs. The slender delta wing on Concorde takes this a step further. Looked at head-on, the Concorde wing does not just sweep back by 55 degrees, it twists and droops, apparently simple yet very complex in reality. This design gives Concorde lift at low speeds by increasing the angle of attack of the wing. And it gives efficiency at high speeds during the supersonic cruise where the delta wing's long chord, narrow profile and short span generates very little drag. On a traditional aircraft wing a swirling vortex forms only at the wing tips. On a delta wing at low speeds and a high angle of attack, the vortex forms along the entire wing surface, giving the lift required for reliable take off and landing. Over 5000 hours of wind-tunnel testing were carried out to modify camber, droop and twist, to ensure the wing surface vortex would be a stable and dependable source of lift. As the delta wing gets closer to the ground, the downwash of air creates a cushion and landing is made very smooth even though the plane descends at much higher speed.
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