- This article is about the uncontrollable upward movement of the F-86 Sabre - for the Khachaturian music: see Sabre Dance
Sabre Dance is the name given to a particularly dangerous behaviour of swept wings, which became apparent in the USAF with the introduction of the F-86 Sabre. When a swept wing starts to stall the outermost portions tend to stall first. Since these portions are behind the center of gravity, the overall lift force moves forward, pitching the nose of the aircraft upwards. This leads to a higher angle of attack and causes more of the wing to stall, making the problem worse. A large number of aircraft were lost to this problem on landing, leaving the plane tumbling down the runway...
|
