+streakeagle 866 Posted April 24, 2007 Small fixed canards are usually added to "energize" airflow with vortices. The vortices induce drag, so there is a penalty, but they can smooth out turbulent airflow. It is a means of stabilzing/controlling airflow at high angles of attack. They perform a function similar to leading edge root extensions on F/A-18 and F-16 fighters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eraser_tr 29 Posted April 24, 2007 Hrm, I think those planes are fictional aside from the shinden and Do-335 (3rd link) the zwilling Me-262 says they are fantasy planes. But I was making a point that there were few planes that used canards, fewer that entered service before the current generation of designs came around and they became popular. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fubar512 1,350 Posted April 24, 2007 Hrm, I think those planes are fictional aside from the shinden and Do-335 (3rd link) the zwilling Me-262 says they are fantasy planes.. The XP-55 and XB-70 were certainly not fictional, as there were at least two of each built. Also, as mentioned before, every B-1A and B has a set of small canards. If you want to expand the genre a bit further, there was the Tu-144, an airliner that saw rather limited service, but was still considered a production aircraft. The reason that canards are only now coming into "common" use on military aircraft, probably has more to do with the advent of fly-by-wire systems, than anything else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted April 25, 2007 Let's not forget Rutan's EZ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
