Grumman won the contract to build the forward-swept-wing X-29. But Grumman was not the only company to go for the contract; Rockwell devoted a fair amount of effort – both engineering and PR – to win the prize. Their concept was similar, though intended to be a wholly new aircraft, and with a notably different planform. Below is a magazine ad from 1980 showing a model of the Rockwell “Sabrebat” concept.
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2 responses to “Sabrebat”
Was the whole FSW “experiment” a big materials science test or was there genuine advantage to the design?
FSW *theoretically* is a fantastic design: you get the high speed sweep advantages, but with the low speed reasonable angle of attack advantages of unswept wings. But even with carbon fiber, the wings were still too heavy to be stiff enough.