List of flying wing aircraft - Definition and Overview

The experimental Northrop YB-49 bomber of the 1950s

The following is a list of flying wing aircraft, along with some information about their roles, successfulness, and country of origin. A flying wing aircraft is one in which the fuselage and tail sections are abandoned, and the crew operates inside a thick wing. In theory, such an aircraft has a higher lift and lower drag than conventional ones, though it can be difficult to use properly due to its inherent instability.

• A-12 Avenger II — An American attack aircraft intended to replace the United States Navy's A-6 Intruder. The project was aborted before any aircraft could be built.
• B-2 Spirit — A highly successful American stealth bomber, built as an alternative to the F-117 Nighthawk with a much larger payload.
• Gotha Go 229 — One of the only planes that met Hermann Göring's infamous performance requirements, the Go 229 was an experimental fighter built by Nazi Germany near the end of World War II.

The modern B-2 Spirit bomber counteracts the instability of the flying wing with automatic computer correction, allowing it to fly very smoothly.

• Northrop YB-35 — An American heavy bomber built as part of the same request that led to the Convair B-36, the YB-35 was meant to carry some 16,000 lb as far as Germany from bases in the United States. Since the programme was constantly delayed, the first time it flew it was already obsolete. Only pre-production models were built.
• Northrop YB-49 — Three YB-35s were converted to use jet engines, and the United States Air Force tested that possibility. Though the YB-49 proved to be dangerously unstable, it served as the inspiration for the B-2 Spirit.