{"id":30152799,"date":"2026-10-29T15:06:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T15:06:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:06:55","slug":"delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta Wing Explained: Why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde Used One"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n\n\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color .15s}\n.mfsh-trigger:hover,.mfsh-trigger:focus-visible{background:#0F1720;color:#fff;outline:none}\n.mfsh-trigger svg{width:18px;height:18px;display:block;flex-shrink:0}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-bottom{margin:8px 0 28px}\n.mfsh-meta{position:relative;padding-right:190px}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-inmeta{position:absolute;right:0;bottom:0;margin:0;height:30px;padding:0 8.9px;font-size:13px}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-inmeta svg{width:16px;height:16px}\n.mfsh-overlay{position:fixed;inset:0;background:rgba(15,23,32,.55);z-index:99999;display:flex;align-items:flex-end;justify-content:center;opacity:0;pointer-events:none;transition:opacity .2s}\n.mfsh-overlay.mfsh-open{opacity:1;pointer-events:auto}\n.mfsh-sheet{width:100%;max-width:520px;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;padding:18px 20px 28px;transform:translateY(24px);transition:transform .22s;box-shadow:0 12px 32px rgba(15,23,32,.25);font-family:inherit;max-height:92vh;overflow:auto;-webkit-overflow-scrolling:touch}\n.mfsh-overlay.mfsh-open .mfsh-sheet{transform:none}\n@media (min-width:640px){.mfsh-overlay{align-items:center}.mfsh-sheet{padding-bottom:20px}}\n.mfsh-head{display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:space-between;margin:0 0 14px}\n.mfsh-head strong{font-size:18px;font-weight:800;display:flex;align-items:center;gap:8px;line-height:1}\n.mfsh-head strong svg{width:18px;height:18px}\n.mfsh-close{background:none;border:0;padding:6px;margin:0;cursor:pointer;color:#0F1720;line-height:0;box-shadow:none}\n.mfsh-close svg{width:18px;height:18px}\n.mfsh-preview{display:grid;grid-template-columns:96px 1fr;gap:12px;border:1px solid #DCE3EE;background:#F5F7FB;padding:10px;margin:0 0 12px;align-items:center}\n.mfsh-preview img{width:96px;height:72px;object-fit:cover;display:block;margin:0}\n.mfsh-preview .mfsh-kicker{font-size:10px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5C91FF;margin:0 0 4px;line-height:1.2}\n.mfsh-preview .mfsh-title{font-size:14px;line-height:1.3;font-weight:700;margin:0;display:block}\n.mfsh-list{display:grid;margin:0;padding:0}\n.mfsh-item{display:flex;align-items:center;gap:14px;height:50px;width:100%;border:0;border-top:1px solid #DCE3EE;background:none;padding:0 4px;margin:0;text-align:left;font-family:inherit;font-size:15px;font-weight:600;color:#0F1720;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;line-height:1}\n.mfsh-item:hover,.mfsh-item:focus-visible{background:#F5F7FB;outline:none}\n.mfsh-item svg{width:20px;height:20px;color:#5C91FF;flex-shrink:0;display:block}\n.mfsh-item small{margin-left:auto;color:#5B6674;font-weight:500;font-size:12px}\n.mfsh-item.mfsh-done svg{color:#1E9E5A}\n.mfsh-toast{position:fixed;left:50%;bottom:32px;transform:translate(-50%,10px);background:#0F1720;color:#fff;padding:10px 16px;font-weight:700;font-size:13px;font-family:inherit;opacity:0;pointer-events:none;transition:opacity .2s,transform .2s;z-index:100000}\n.mfsh-toast.mfsh-show{opacity:1;transform:translate(-50%,0)}\n@media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){.mfsh-overlay,.mfsh-sheet,.mfsh-toast,.mfsh-trigger{transition:none}}\n<\/style>\n<svg width=\"0\" height=\"0\" style=\"position:absolute\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-share\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.9\" stroke-linecap=\"square\" d=\"M12 3v12M8 7l4-4 4 4M5 12v8h14v-8\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-close\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"square\" d=\"m5 5 14 14M19 5 5 19\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-wa\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M12 2a10 10 0 0 0-8.6 15.1L2 22l5.1-1.3A10 10 0 1 0 12 2Zm0 1.8a8.2 8.2 0 1 1-4.2 15.3l-.3-.2-3 .8.8-2.9-.2-.3A8.2 8.2 0 0 1 12 3.8Zm-3 4.4c-.2 0-.5 0-.8.4-.3.3-1 1-1 2.4s1 2.8 1.2 3c.1.2 2 3.2 5 4.4 2.5 1 3 .8 3.5.7.5 0 1.7-.7 2-1.4.2-.7.2-1.3.1-1.4l-.5-.3-2-1c-.3 0-.5-.1-.7.2l-.9 1.1c-.2.2-.3.2-.6.1-.3-.2-1.3-.5-2.4-1.5-.9-.8-1.5-1.8-1.7-2-.2-.4 0-.5.2-.7l.4-.5.3-.5v-.5l-.9-2.2c-.2-.5-.4-.5-.6-.5H9Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-x\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M17.8 3h3l-6.7 7.7L22 21h-6.2l-4.8-6.3L5.4 21h-3l7.2-8.2L2 3h6.3l4.4 5.8L17.8 3Zm-1.1 16.2h1.7L7.4 4.7H5.6l11.1 14.5Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-fb\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M13.5 22v-8h2.7l.4-3.2h-3.1V8.8c0-.9.3-1.6 1.6-1.6h1.7V4.4c-.3 0-1.3-.1-2.5-.1-2.5 0-4.1 1.5-4.1 4.2v2.3H7.4V14h2.8v8h3.3Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-li\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M6.5 8.5H3V21h3.5V8.5ZM4.8 3a2 2 0 1 0 0 4 2 2 0 0 0 0-4ZM21 13.4c0-3.4-1.8-5.2-4.5-5.2-1.6 0-2.7.8-3.2 1.7V8.5H9.9V21h3.4v-6.4c0-1.7.6-2.8 2.1-2.8 1.4 0 2 1 2 2.8V21H21v-7.6Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-rd\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M22 12.1a2.4 2.4 0 0 0-4.1-1.7 11.7 11.7 0 0 0-5.5-1.7l1-4.5 3.1.7a1.7 1.7 0 1 0 .2-1l-3.6-.8a.5.5 0 0 0-.6.4l-1.1 5.2a11.8 11.8 0 0 0-5.8 1.7A2.4 2.4 0 1 0 3 14.3v.5c0 3.4 4 6.2 9 6.2s9-2.8 9-6.2v-.5a2.4 2.4 0 0 0 1-2.2ZM7.5 13.8a1.7 1.7 0 1 1 3.4 0 1.7 1.7 0 0 1-3.4 0Zm8.9 4.5c-1.2 1.2-3.4 1.3-4.4 1.3s-3.3-.1-4.4-1.3a.5.5 0 0 1 .7-.7c.7.8 2.4 1 3.7 1s2.9-.2 3.7-1a.5.5 0 0 1 .7.7Zm-.6-2.8a1.7 1.7 0 1 1 0-3.4 1.7 1.7 0 0 1 0 3.4Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-tg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M21.9 4.6 18.7 19.9c-.2 1-.9 1.3-1.7.8l-4.9-3.6-2.3 2.3c-.3.3-.5.5-1 .5l.4-5 9-8.2c.4-.3-.1-.5-.6-.2L6.4 13.5 1.6 12c-1-.3-1.1-1 .2-1.5l18.8-7.2c.9-.3 1.6.2 1.3 1.3Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-mail\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.8\" d=\"M3 6h18v12H3z\"\/><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.8\" d=\"m3 7 9 6 9-6\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-link\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.9\" stroke-linecap=\"square\" d=\"M10 14a4 4 0 0 0 5.7 0l3-3a4 4 0 0 0-5.7-5.7l-1.5 1.5M14 10a4 4 0 0 0-5.7 0l-3 3a4 4 0 0 0 5.7 5.7l1.5-1.5\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-more\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><circle cx=\"5\" cy=\"12\" r=\"2\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"12\" r=\"2\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><circle cx=\"19\" cy=\"12\" r=\"2\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><\/symbol>\n<\/svg>\n<span class=\"mfsh-top-slot\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger\" data-mfsh-placement=\"top\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button><\/span>\n<script>\n(function(){\n  if (window.__mfsh) return; window.__mfsh = true;\n  var SECTION = 'afterburner';\n  function meta(p){ var m=document.querySelector('meta[property=\"'+p+'\"]'); return m ? m.getAttribute('content') : ''; }\n  function pageUrl(){ var c=document.querySelector('link[rel=\"canonical\"]'); return (c && c.href) || (location.origin + location.pathname); }\n  function pageTitle(){ var h=document.querySelector('h1.entry-title'); return (h && h.textContent.trim()) || meta('og:title') || document.title; }\n  function slug(){ return location.pathname.replace(\/\\\/+$\/,'').split('\/').pop() || 'home'; }\n  function kicker(){ var c=document.querySelector('.et_pb_title_container a[rel=\"category tag\"], .et_pb_title_container a[rel=\"category\"], a[rel=\"category tag\"]'); return 'Afterburner' + (c && c.textContent.trim() ? ' \u00b7 ' + c.textContent.trim() : ''); }\n  function shareUrl(ch, placement){ return pageUrl() + '?utm_source=share&utm_medium=' + ch + '&utm_campaign=' + SECTION + '&utm_content=sheet_' + placement; }\n  function track(ch, placement, extra){\n    window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];\n    var ev = { event:'share', share_channel:ch, share_variant:'sheet', share_placement:placement, page_section:SECTION, content_id:slug() };\n    if (extra) for (var k in extra) ev[k]=extra[k];\n    window.dataLayer.push(ev);\n  }\n  var CH = [\n    ['whatsapp','WhatsApp','mfsh-i-wa',''],\n    ['x','X','mfsh-i-x',''],\n    ['facebook','Facebook','mfsh-i-fb',''],\n    ['linkedin','LinkedIn','mfsh-i-li',''],\n    ['reddit','Reddit','mfsh-i-rd','r\/aviation, r\/WarplanePorn'],\n    ['telegram','Telegram','mfsh-i-tg',''],\n    ['email','Email','mfsh-i-mail',''],\n    ['copy','Copy link','mfsh-i-link',''],\n    ['native','More','mfsh-i-more','Instagram, Signal, AirDrop']\n  ];\n  var overlay, toastEl, toastT, placement = 'top';\n  function build(){\n    overlay = document.createElement('div'); overlay.className = 'mfsh-overlay'; overlay.setAttribute('role','dialog'); overlay.setAttribute('aria-modal','true'); overlay.setAttribute('aria-label','Share');\n    var img = meta('og:image');\n    var items = CH.filter(function(c){ return c[0] !== 'native' || !!navigator.share; }).map(function(c){\n      return '<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-item\" data-mfsh-ch=\"'+c[0]+'\"><svg><use href=\"#'+c[2]+'\"\/><\/svg>'+c[1]+(c[3]?'<small>'+c[3]+'<\/small>':'')+'<\/button>';\n    }).join('');\n    overlay.innerHTML = '<div class=\"mfsh-sheet\"><div class=\"mfsh-head\"><strong><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share<\/strong><button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-close\" aria-label=\"Close\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-close\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>'\n      + '<div class=\"mfsh-preview\">' + (img ? '<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"'+img+'\" alt=\"\">' : '<span><\/span>') + '<div><div class=\"mfsh-kicker\">'+kicker()+'<\/div><span class=\"mfsh-title\">'+pageTitle()+'<\/span><\/div><\/div>'\n      + '<div class=\"mfsh-list\">'+items+'<\/div><\/div>';\n    document.body.appendChild(overlay);\n    toastEl = document.createElement('div'); toastEl.className = 'mfsh-toast'; document.body.appendChild(toastEl);\n    overlay.addEventListener('click', function(e){\n      if (e.target === overlay || e.target.closest('.mfsh-close')) { close(); return; }\n      var b = e.target.closest('.mfsh-item'); if (b) act(b.getAttribute('data-mfsh-ch'), b);\n    });\n    document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e){ if (e.key === 'Escape') close(); });\n  }\n  function open(p){ placement = p || 'top'; if (!overlay) build(); overlay.classList.add('mfsh-open'); track('open', placement); }\n  function close(){ if (overlay) overlay.classList.remove('mfsh-open'); }\n  function toast(m){ toastEl.textContent = m; toastEl.classList.add('mfsh-show'); clearTimeout(toastT); toastT = setTimeout(function(){ toastEl.classList.remove('mfsh-show'); }, 1600); }\n  function act(ch, btn){\n    var url = shareUrl(ch, placement), t = pageTitle(), enc = encodeURIComponent;\n    if (ch === 'copy') {\n      var done = function(){ toast('Link copied'); btn.classList.add('mfsh-done'); setTimeout(function(){ btn.classList.remove('mfsh-done'); close(); }, 900); };\n      track(ch, placement);\n      if (navigator.clipboard && navigator.clipboard.writeText) navigator.clipboard.writeText(url).then(done, done); else done();\n      return;\n    }\n    if (ch === 'native') {\n      track(ch, placement, { share_result:'opened' });\n      navigator.share({ title:t, text:t, url:url }).then(function(){ track('native', placement, { share_result:'completed' }); close(); }).catch(function(){});\n      return;\n    }\n    var target = {\n      whatsapp: 'https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text=' + enc(t + ' ' + url),\n      x:        'https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=' + enc(t) + '&url=' + enc(url) + '&via=MiGFlug',\n      facebook: 'https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=' + enc(url),\n      linkedin: 'https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/sharing\/share-offsite\/?url=' + enc(url),\n      reddit:   'https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=' + enc(url) + '&title=' + enc(t),\n      telegram: 'https:\/\/t.me\/share\/url?url=' + enc(url) + '&text=' + enc(t),\n      email:    'mailto:?subject=' + enc(t) + '&body=' + enc('Thought you would like this, from Afterburner, MiGFlug\\'s magazine:\\n' + t + '\\n' + url)\n    }[ch];\n    track(ch, placement);\n    if (target) { if (ch === 'email') location.href = target; else window.open(target, '_blank', 'noopener,width=680,height=560'); }\n    close();\n  }\n  var mq = window.matchMedia('(min-width:981px)');\n  function place(){\n    var t = document.querySelector('.mfsh-trigger[data-mfsh-placement=\"top\"]'), slot = document.querySelector('.mfsh-top-slot');\n    var meta = [].slice.call(document.querySelectorAll('.et_pb_title_meta_container, .et_post_meta_wrapper .post-meta, .single .post-meta')).filter(function(m){ return m.offsetParent !== null; })[0];\n    if (!t || !slot) return;\n    if (meta && mq.matches) { meta.classList.add('mfsh-meta'); t.classList.add('mfsh-inmeta'); if (t.parentNode !== meta) meta.appendChild(t); var a = meta.querySelector('a'); if (a) { var pr = document.createElement('span'); pr.style.cssText = 'display:inline-block;width:0;height:0;vertical-align:baseline'; a.appendChild(pr); var base = pr.getBoundingClientRect().bottom; pr.remove(); var fs = parseFloat(getComputedStyle(a).fontSize) || 14, mb = meta.getBoundingClientRect().bottom; t.style.bottom = Math.max(0, mb - (base + fs * 0.12)) + 'px'; } }\n    else { t.classList.remove('mfsh-inmeta'); if (t.parentNode !== slot) slot.appendChild(t); }\n  }\n  if (document.readyState === 'loading') document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', place); else place(); window.addEventListener('load', place); if (document.fonts && document.fonts.ready) document.fonts.ready.then(place); window.addEventListener('resize', place);\n  if (mq.addEventListener) mq.addEventListener('change', place); else mq.addListener(place);\n  document.addEventListener('click', function(e){ var b = e.target.closest('.mfsh-trigger'); if (b) { e.preventDefault(); open(b.getAttribute('data-mfsh-placement') || 'top'); } });\n})();\n<\/script><!-- \/mfsh:top -->\n\n<p>Concorde never floated gently onto a runway. It arrived nose-high, droop nose lowered so the pilots could see over it, touching down at around 170 mph at a far steeper angle of attack than any conventional airliner would use. Above that pale triangle, invisible to the passengers, two huge spiralling vortices were holding the aircraft up.<\/p>\n\n<p>The same basic triangle shaped the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mirage-iii\/\">Dassault Mirage III<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/avro-vulcan\/\">Avro Vulcan<\/a> and the Convair interceptors that guarded North America. It is one of the most recognisable shapes in aviation, and one of the most misunderstood. The delta wing looks like a swept wing with the gap filled in, but it behaves very differently. It is a set of trade-offs that made perfect sense for Mach 2 and very little sense for a slow, tight dogfight.<\/p>\n\n<p>Here is the delta wing explained: why designers chose it, what it gave them, what it cost them, and why today's fighters still use it with canards bolted on the front.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Shape:<\/strong> A triangular wing named after the Greek letter delta, with a long root chord and a swept leading edge<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Pioneer:<\/strong> Alexander Lippisch; his Delta I glider flew in 1931<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Strengths:<\/strong> Low supersonic drag, a stiff and light structure, room for fuel, vortex lift at high angles of attack<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Weaknesses:<\/strong> High induced drag in hard turns, high landing angles and speeds, no conventional flaps on tailless deltas<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Tailless deltas:<\/strong> Mirage III, Avro Vulcan, Concorde, Convair F-102 and F-106, steered by elevons<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Tailed delta:<\/strong> MiG-21, with a conventional tailplane and trailing-edge flaps<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Variants:<\/strong> Cranked arrow (F-16XL), double delta (Draken), ogival delta (Concorde), canard delta (Gripen, Rafale, Typhoon)<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Lippisch's triangle<\/h2>\n\n<p>The practical delta wing begins with Alexander Lippisch, a German designer who coined the name Delta for a series of tailless aircraft. His Delta I glider flew in 1931, and four more Delta designs followed by 1939. They were not easy to handle at low speed and none saw widespread use, but they put the shape on the map.<\/p>\n\n<p>During the Second World War Lippisch worked on a supersonic delta interceptor, the P.13a, and built a test glider for it, the DM-1. Allied troops captured both the glider and its designer. The DM-1 was completed for the United States and shipped to NACA's Langley laboratory, where it was tested and modified to reduce its drag.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4YG01Pwglc8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Millennium 7 on the delta wing dilemma: why the shape suits some missions brilliantly and others badly.<\/p>\n\n<p>According to NASA's own history of the type, conferences with Lippisch convinced Convair's engineers that a delta would work for their XF-92 interceptor project. The interceptor was cancelled, but its flying mock-up survived as the Convair XF-92A, which officially first flew on 18 September 1948 and became the test bed for America's first operational delta fighters.<\/p>\n\n<p>It was not a pleasant aeroplane. The XF-92A suffered severe pitch-up, sometimes beyond 6 g, and its handling became legendary at Edwards. Yet it proved the configuration was practical, and Convair carried the lessons into the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-102-delta-dagger\/\">F-102 Delta Dagger<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-106-delta-dart\/\">F-106 Delta Dart<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-58-hustler\/\">B-58 Hustler<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Nobody wanted to fly the XF-92. There was no lineup of pilots for that airplane. It was a miserable flying beast.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>A. Scott Crossfield<\/strong> &mdash; NACA research pilot, recalled in NASA Dryden fact sheet FS-2003-06-080<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Thin, stiff and full of fuel<\/h2>\n\n<p>The delta's first gift is structural. Because the wing root runs a long way along the fuselage, a wing that is very thin as a percentage of its chord can still be physically deep at the root. Deep spars are stiff spars, so the delta can be built stronger, stiffer and lighter than a swept wing of similar lifting capability.<\/p>\n\n<p>That long root also leaves a lot of volume inside the wing for fuel, landing gear and equipment. It made the shape cheap and robust to build, a real factor in the success of both the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-21-fishbed\/\">MiG-21<\/a> and the Mirage family. On supersonic designs, engineers usually spent that advantage on an even thinner aerofoil to cut drag.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Built for Mach 2<\/h2>\n\n<p>Speed is the delta's reason to exist. A strongly swept leading edge sits behind the shock cone at transonic and low supersonic speeds, which keeps the airflow over the wing behaving more like subsonic flow and holds wave drag down. A thin wing helps further, and the delta lets a wing be thin without becoming flimsy.<\/p>\n\n<p>The shape alone was not enough. Convair's YF-102 first flew in October 1953 and could not exceed Mach 1 in level flight because its transonic drag was far higher than predicted. Convair rebuilt it around Richard Whitcomb's area rule, pinching the fuselage into a Coke-bottle waist, and the YF-102A went supersonic the day after its first flight in December 1954.<\/p>\n\n<p>In France, Dassault's tailless Mirage III first flew in November 1956, and a pre-production Mirage IIIA reached Mach 2 in level flight in October 1958. The thin delta had become the standard recipe for a Mach 2 interceptor: a big engine, a sharp nose, and a triangle behind it.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Vortex lift: the delta's hidden trick<\/h2>\n\n<p>At low speed, any wing needs a higher angle of attack to keep lifting. On a conventional wing, flow separation at high angles brings the stall. On a sharply swept delta, the air spilling around the leading edge rolls up into a pair of strong vortices over the upper surface. Their low pressure adds lift and delays the stall.<\/p>\n\n<p>Chuck Yeager noticed the effect in the XF-92A, but it was the Royal Aircraft Establishment's Dietrich K\u00fcchemann and Johanna Weber who turned it into a design tool. Their slender delta work showed that the vortex lift grows with the length of leading edge it acts along, which pointed straight towards a long, slender wing running far along the fuselage.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hnrpXxbVhME\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Real Engineering's study of Concorde, including how its slender ogival wing worked at Mach 2 and on approach.<\/p>\n\n<p>That is Concorde's ogival, or ogee, delta, its leading edge curving in a smooth double sweep from nose to tip. It cruised efficiently at Mach 2, then relied on vortex lift to fly slowly enough to land, with no flaps or slats at all. Pitch and roll came from six elevons on the trailing edge.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The price: drag, speed and no flaps<\/h2>\n\n<p>Every gift has a bill. A delta has a low aspect ratio, short span and broad chord, and NASA's own formula for induced drag shows why that hurts: for the same wing area, a lower aspect ratio means more drag for every unit of lift. In a hard, sustained turn, a pure delta bleeds energy faster than a fighter with a higher aspect ratio wing.<\/p>\n\n<p>Landing is the second bill. Without vortex lift the wing produces little lift at low angles, so deltas approach nose-high and fast. Concorde rotated to about 18 degrees on take-off and needed tall, strong landing gear to allow for it, and its normal landing speed was around 170 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift-img1.jpg\" alt=\"Concorde landing nose-high at Farnborough with its ogival delta wing\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Concorde touches down at Farnborough in 1974. With no flaps, its ogival delta wing relied on vortex lift at high angles of attack, so it landed nose-high at around 170 mph. Credit: Steve Fitzgerald \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>The third bill belongs to tailless deltas in particular. With no horizontal tail, the elevons must both trim and control the aircraft, so conventional trailing-edge flaps cannot be used. On the Mirage III that meant a relatively long take-off run and a high landing speed, while the large, lightly loaded wing gave a bumpy ride at low altitude.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Vulcan: a delta for the bomb bay<\/h2>\n\n<p>Avro chose the delta for a different reason. To meet a demanding RAF bomber specification, its team found that an otherwise conventional jet with a 45-degree swept wing would have been far too heavy. Shortening the span while keeping the wing area, and filling in the gap, produced a deep, thick triangle that could swallow the engines, the fuel and the bomb load.<\/p>\n\n<p>Avro knew Lippisch's work, but followed its own logic, and de-risked the shape with the small Avro 707 research jets. The Vulcan prototype VX770 first flew on 30 August 1952 with Avro's Superintendent of Flying, Roly Falk, at the controls.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;the handling of the Vulcan came fully up to the high standards that we had been led to expect from our trials on the 707.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Roly Falk<\/strong> &mdash; Avro Superintendent of Flying, Royal Air Force Flying Review, April 1955<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<p>Even the Vulcan's delta needed fixing. Near its limiting Mach number the original straight leading edge buffeted, so Avro gave the production wing a kinked and drooped leading edge, the so-called phase 2 wing, first tried on an Avro 707A.<\/p>\n\n<p>The Vulcan entered RAF service in 1956 as part of Britain's nuclear deterrent and flew its only combat missions in 1982, the long-range Black Buck raids of the Falklands War. The RAF retired it in 1984, and the restored XH558 kept the great delta flying at air shows until 2015.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sREH4CKyuE8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Imperial War Museums on the Avro Vulcan, Britain's best-known V bomber and its giant delta wing.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Tails, canards and cranks: fixing the delta<\/h2>\n\n<p>Designers soon began editing the pure triangle. The Soviet answer was the tailed delta, adopted by the TsAGI research institute to improve high angle of attack handling and centre of gravity range. The MiG-21 added a conventional tailplane to its 57-degree delta, which freed the trailing edge for real flaps, and with more than 11,000 built it is widely recorded as the most-produced supersonic jet in history.<\/p>\n\n<p>Sweden went the other way. The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/saab-35-draken\/\">Saab 35 Draken<\/a> used a double delta with a sharply swept inner section, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/saab-37-viggen\/\">Saab 37 Viggen<\/a> of 1967 pioneered the close-coupled canard, a small delta foreplane whose vortex strengthens the airflow over the main wing. That layout returned in the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/saab-gripen\/\">Saab Gripen<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/rafale\/\">Dassault Rafale<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/eurofighter-typhoon\/\">Eurofighter Typhoon<\/a>, all of them fly-by-wire designs.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift-img2.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian Air Force MiG-21bis tailed delta fighter taxiing\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A Bulgarian MiG-21bis at Graf Ignatievo. The MiG-21's tailed delta added a conventional tailplane, which freed the wing for flaps. Credit: US Air National Guard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>The United States tried a cranked arrow. General Dynamics' F-16XL, first flown on 3 July 1982, replaced the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-16-fighting-falcon\/\">F-16<\/a>'s wing and tailplanes with a delta more than twice the size of the original wing, improving supersonic lift-to-drag ratio and adding a great deal of internal fuel. It lost the Enhanced Tactical Fighter contest to the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-15e-strike-eagle\/\">F-15E Strike Eagle<\/a> and ended its days as a NASA research aircraft.<\/p>\n\n<p>Even the Mirage evolved. Israel's <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/iai-kfir\/\">IAI Kfir<\/a> added canards to the Mirage-derived airframe, and Dassault's later <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mirage-2000\/\">Mirage 2000<\/a> paired a tailless delta with fly-by-wire controls.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift-img3.jpg\" alt=\"NASA F-16XL cranked-arrow delta wing seen from above during air refuelling\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The F-16XL's cranked-arrow delta, seen from a tanker in 1996. The new wing was more than twice the size of the F-16's and carried far more fuel. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why the delta never went away<\/h2>\n\n<p>The pure tailless delta of the 1950s was a specialist: superb at climbing hard and running fast in a straight line, less happy in a long turning fight or on a short runway. Its descendants keep the delta's strengths, the stiff thin structure, the fuel volume, the vortex lift and the low supersonic drag, and use canards, tails, cranks and computers to pay down its weaknesses.<\/p>\n\n<p>Lippisch's triangle has now been flying for almost a century. Look at a Rafale, a Gripen or a Typhoon on the runway and you are still looking at his delta wing, with a few hard-won corrections attached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sources: NASA (Dryden fact sheet FS-2003-06-080, Glenn Research Center Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics, NASA Image Library), Royal Air Force Flying Review (via Vulcan to the Sky Trust), Heritage Concorde, Imperial War Museums, Wikipedia (Delta wing, Alexander Lippisch, Concorde, Avro Vulcan, Convair F-102, Dassault Mirage III, MiG-21, F-16XL)<\/em><\/p>\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is a delta wing?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A delta wing is a triangular wing named after the Greek letter delta. It has a strongly swept leading edge and a long root chord running far along the fuselage. The shape gives low drag at supersonic speeds, a stiff and light structure with plenty of internal volume, and extra vortex lift at high angles of attack.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did the Mirage III, Avro Vulcan and Concorde use a delta wing?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Mirage III and Concorde used the delta wing mainly for Mach 2 flight, because its swept, thin but structurally deep wing keeps supersonic drag low. Avro chose a thick delta for the Vulcan because it met a demanding bomber specification at a far lower weight than a conventional swept wing, with room inside for engines, fuel and bombs.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is vortex lift on a delta wing?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Vortex lift is extra lift produced when air spills around a sharply swept delta wing's leading edge at high angles of attack and rolls up into strong vortices over the upper surface. The low pressure inside the vortices adds lift and delays the stall. Concorde's slender ogival wing relied on it to fly slowly enough to land.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What are the disadvantages of a delta wing?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A delta wing has a low aspect ratio, so it produces high induced drag and bleeds energy in hard, sustained turns. It needs high angles of attack and speeds to land, and tailless deltas such as the Mirage III cannot use conventional flaps because the elevons must trim the aircraft, which lengthens the take-off run and raises landing speed.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why do modern delta-wing fighters have canards?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Modern delta-wing fighters such as the Saab Gripen, Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon use close-coupled canards, pioneered by the Saab Viggen in 1967, to fix the pure delta's weaknesses. The canard's vortex strengthens the airflow over the main wing, adding lift, improving low-speed handling and agility, and shortening take-off and landing, with fly-by-wire controls.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is the difference between a tailless delta and a tailed delta?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A tailless delta, like the Mirage III or Concorde, has no horizontal tail and uses elevons on the wing for pitch and roll. A tailed delta, like the MiG-21, adds a conventional tailplane, which improves handling at high angles of attack and frees the wing's trailing edge for proper flaps.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who invented the delta wing?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The German designer Alexander Lippisch pioneered the practical delta wing and coined the name Delta for his designs. His Delta I glider flew in 1931. His wartime DM-1 test glider was later studied by NACA in the United States, and NASA records that conferences with Lippisch convinced Convair engineers to build the delta-winged XF-92A.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Can I fly in a MiG-21?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. MiGFlug offers supersonic <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/mig-21-launch\/\">MiG-21 flights from Florida<\/a>, out over the Gulf of Mexico, where supersonic flight is permitted above international waters. The MiG-21 is the classic tailed delta, and MiGFlug notes that the jet is expected to be available for civilian flights for only a few months before moving to adversary training.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is a delta wing?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A delta wing is a triangular wing named after the Greek letter delta. It has a strongly swept leading edge and a long root chord running far along the fuselage. The shape gives low drag at supersonic speeds, a stiff and light structure with plenty of internal volume, and extra vortex lift at high angles of attack.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why did the Mirage III, Avro Vulcan and Concorde use a delta wing?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Mirage III and Concorde used the delta wing mainly for Mach 2 flight, because its swept, thin but structurally deep wing keeps supersonic drag low. Avro chose a thick delta for the Vulcan because it met a demanding bomber specification at a far lower weight than a conventional swept wing, with room inside for engines, fuel and bombs.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is vortex lift on a delta wing?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Vortex lift is extra lift produced when air spills around a sharply swept delta wing's leading edge at high angles of attack and rolls up into strong vortices over the upper surface. The low pressure inside the vortices adds lift and delays the stall. Concorde's slender ogival wing relied on it to fly slowly enough to land.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What are the disadvantages of a delta wing?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A delta wing has a low aspect ratio, so it produces high induced drag and bleeds energy in hard, sustained turns. It needs high angles of attack and speeds to land, and tailless deltas such as the Mirage III cannot use conventional flaps because the elevons must trim the aircraft, which lengthens the take-off run and raises landing speed.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why do modern delta-wing fighters have canards?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Modern delta-wing fighters such as the Saab Gripen, Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon use close-coupled canards, pioneered by the Saab Viggen in 1967, to fix the pure delta's weaknesses. The canard's vortex strengthens the airflow over the main wing, adding lift, improving low-speed handling and agility, and shortening take-off and landing, with fly-by-wire controls.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the difference between a tailless delta and a tailed delta?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A tailless delta, like the Mirage III or Concorde, has no horizontal tail and uses elevons on the wing for pitch and roll. A tailed delta, like the MiG-21, adds a conventional tailplane, which improves handling at high angles of attack and frees the wing's trailing edge for proper flaps.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who invented the delta wing?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The German designer Alexander Lippisch pioneered the practical delta wing and coined the name Delta for his designs. His Delta I glider flew in 1931. His wartime DM-1 test glider was later studied by NACA in the United States, and NASA records that conferences with Lippisch convinced Convair engineers to build the delta-winged XF-92A.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Can I fly in a MiG-21?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. MiGFlug offers supersonic MiG-21 flights from Florida, out over the Gulf of Mexico, where supersonic flight is permitted above international waters. The MiG-21 is the classic tailed delta, and MiGFlug notes that the jet is expected to be available for civilian flights for only a few months before moving to adversary training.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/dassault-mirage-iii-delta-fighter-history-six-day-war-swiss-affair\/\">Dassault Mirage III: The Delta That Made France a Fighter Power<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/convair-xf-92a-delta-wing-prototype\/\">Convair XF-92A: The Delta Nobody Wanted to Fly<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/why-fighters-have-canards-explained\/\">Why Some Fighters Wear Canards, and Others Refuse To<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/swept-wings-explained-critical-mach-busemann-mig-15-f-86\/\">Swept Wings Explained: How Sweep Pushed Jets Toward Mach 1<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story Concorde never floated gently onto a runway. It arrived nose-high, droop nose lowered so the pilots could see over it, touching down at around 170 mph at a far steeper angle of attack than any conventional airliner would use. Above that pale triangle, invisible to the passengers, two huge spiralling vortices were [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":30105563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30152799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Delta Wing Explained: Mirage, Vulcan, Concorde | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Delta wing explained: why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde used one, from wave drag and vortex lift to elevons, canards and the MiG-21&#039;s tailed delta.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Delta Wing Explained: Mirage, Vulcan, Concorde | MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Delta wing explained: why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde used one, from wave drag and vortex lift to elevons, canards and the MiG-21&#039;s tailed delta.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-29T14:06:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-29T14:06:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/da89e4a5834c9a932ee20751ed75569c\"},\"headline\":\"Delta Wing Explained: Why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde Used One\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-29T14:06:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-29T14:06:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2520,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Aviation World\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/\",\"name\":\"Delta Wing Explained: Mirage, Vulcan, Concorde | MiGFlug\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-29T14:06:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-29T14:06:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Delta wing explained: why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde used one, from wave drag and vortex lift to elevons, canards and the MiG-21's tailed delta.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"NASA Convair F-106B Delta Dart banking to show its delta wing planform\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Delta Wing Explained: Why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde Used One\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\\/w:897\\\/h:278\\\/q:mauto\\\/ig:avif\\\/https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\\/w:897\\\/h:278\\\/q:mauto\\\/ig:avif\\\/https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/da89e4a5834c9a932ee20751ed75569c\",\"name\":\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\"},\"description\":\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald writes MiGFlug\u2019s technical deep-dives \u2014 engines, avionics and weapons systems, with every number checked twice.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/author\\\/maxgruenwald\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Delta Wing Explained: Mirage, Vulcan, Concorde | MiGFlug","description":"Delta wing explained: why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde used one, from wave drag and vortex lift to elevons, canards and the MiG-21's tailed delta.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/","og_locale":"it_IT","og_type":"article","og_title":"Delta Wing Explained: Mirage, Vulcan, Concorde | MiGFlug","og_description":"Delta wing explained: why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde used one, from wave drag and vortex lift to elevons, canards and the MiG-21's tailed delta.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-10-29T14:06:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-29T14:06:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald","Est. reading time":"15 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/"},"author":{"name":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/da89e4a5834c9a932ee20751ed75569c"},"headline":"Delta Wing Explained: Why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde Used One","datePublished":"2026-10-29T14:06:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-29T14:06:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/"},"wordCount":2520,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg","articleSection":["Aviation World","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/","name":"Delta Wing Explained: Mirage, Vulcan, Concorde | MiGFlug","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-29T14:06:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-29T14:06:55+00:00","description":"Delta wing explained: why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde used one, from wave drag and vortex lift to elevons, canards and the MiG-21's tailed delta.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/FEATURED-delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift.jpg","width":1600,"height":900,"caption":"NASA Convair F-106B Delta Dart banking to show its delta wing planform"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/delta-wing-explained-mirage-vulcan-concorde-vortex-lift\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Delta Wing Explained: Why the Mirage, Vulcan and Concorde Used One"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner - La rivista di MiGFlug","description":"Per chi \u00e8 interessato a pilotare aerei militari e argomenti correlati all&#039;aviazione.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/da89e4a5834c9a932ee20751ed75569c","name":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald"},"description":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald cura gli approfondimenti tecnici di MiGFlug, che spaziano dai motori all&#039;avionica e ai sistemi d&#039;arma, verificando ogni dato due volte.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/author\/maxgruenwald\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30152799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30152799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30152799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30152900,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30152799\/revisions\/30152900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30105563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30152799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30152799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30152799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}