Just to add affirmative information about what Viper said about the elliptical wing design of the Spit a little albeit interesting information on a footnote in aeronautical warfare history about a plane that didn't make it into mass production but would have produced a mess if it had been mass produced (you'll quickly will see why): the Heinkel He 112 that had been the most serious competitor against the Me109 during the evaluation trials in 1935 but which - as we know - was won by the 109.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_112
http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/he-112.php
Although the He 112 did have elliptical wings and wing-to-fuselage transition similar to the Spit its first prototypes had some problems with speed and the designers suspected some extra drag they didn't take into account during the initial design stages. They solved it in the course of pre series development but the contract has already gone to Messerschmitt. So obviously elliptical wings aren't the miracle some come to think.
Some nice pics and a short video clip on the 112 used as a testped:
http://www.cockpitinstrumente.de/Flu...%20Profil.html
05-12-2011, 07:10 PM
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