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Old 10-21-2013, 09:41 PM
pandacat pandacat is offline
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Default LERX on WWII aircraft

I always thought the little kink at the leading edge of wing root of P-51D is a high lift device not too dissimilar to LERX on modern jet fighters such as F-18s. However some articles I have read lately said it was none of that. And it was deleted on later H model to save weight. Also, interestingly, almost no US fighters were equipped with leading edge slats as the ones installed on 109s. I know most US fighters emphasized speed, but spring-loaded slats are not really an obstacle to attaining high speed since they are virtually retracted at high speed.
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