Editing Fixed-wing aircraft (section)

====Lifting body====
[[Image:X24.jpg|thumb|The Martin Aircraft Company [[Martin-Marietta X-24|X-24]] was built as part of a 1963–1975 experimental US military program]]
{{main|Lifting body}}
A lifting body is a configuration in which the body produces [[lift (force)|lift]]. In contrast to a [[flying wing]], which is a wing with minimal or no conventional [[fuselage]], a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing. Whereas a flying wing seeks to maximize cruise efficiency at [[Subsonic flight|subsonic]] speeds by eliminating non-lifting surfaces, lifting bodies generally minimize the drag and structure of a wing for subsonic, [[supersonic]], and [[hypersonic]] flight, or, [[spacecraft]] [[re-entry]]. All of these flight regimes pose challenges for flight stability.

Lifting bodies were a major area of research in the 1960s and 1970s as a means to build small and lightweight manned spacecraft. The US built lifting body rocket planes to test the concept, as well as several rocket-launched re-entry vehicles. Interest waned as the [[US Air Force]] lost interest in the manned mission, and major development ended during the [[Space Shuttle design process]] when it became clear that highly shaped fuselages made it difficult to fit fuel tanks.
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