Editing Fixed-wing aircraft (section)

====Flying wing====
{{main|Flying wing}}
[[Image:USAF B-2 Spirit.jpg|thumb|The US-produced [[B-2 Spirit]], a [[strategic bomber]] capable of intercontinental missions, has a flying wing configuration]]
A flying wing is a [[tailless aircraft]] that has no distinct [[fuselage]], housing the crew, payload, and equipment inside.<ref name="Crane">Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition''. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. {{ISBN|1-56027-287-2}}</ref>{{rp|224}}

The flying wing configuration was studied extensively in the 1930s and 1940s, notably by [[Jack Northrop]] and [[Cheston L. Eshelman]] in the United States, and [[Alexander Lippisch]] and the [[Horten brothers]] in Germany. After the war, numerous experimental designs were based on the flying wing concept. General interest continued into the 1950s, but designs did not offer a great advantage in range and presented technical problems. The flying wing is most practical for designs in the slow-to-medium speed range, and drew continual interest as a tactical [[airlift]]er design.

Interest in flying wings reemerged in the 1980s due to their potentially low [[Radar cross section|radar cross-sections]]. [[Stealth technology]] relies on shapes that reflect radar waves only in certain directions, thus making it harder to detect. This approach eventually led to the Northrop [[B-2 Spirit]] [[Stealth aircraft|stealth]] bomber (pictured). The flying wing's aerodynamics are not the primary concern. Computer-controlled [[fly-by-wire]] systems compensated for many of the aerodynamic drawbacks, enabling an efficient and stable long-range aircraft.