The most significant advance in flight?

[Hagar]

But I have to say that the "Flying tail" that was a direct result of the X-1 test program. Which allowed the sound barrier to be broken, and which from then on all jet fighter craft were incorperated with.

SabreHawk. You could easily have missed it with everything straying off-topic (my fault) but the all-flying tail was not a new idea. In fact it was a very old one.
Hagar said:

Strange how the old ideas sometimes turn out best after all. I recall something about all-moving tailplanes & supersonic flight. The idea had been used back in the very early days & discarded in favour of elevators. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/AVbleriot.htm

The X1 is generally agreed to have been partly based on the Miles M.52 which featured an all-flying tailplane. http://www.aero51.plus.com/html/exhibits/m52.htm

[SabreHawk]

Yeah, .....heh, I geuss I can sometimes in my zeal to put in my 2 cents worth miss something said allready.

Thanks for the link, that's some interesting stuff on the M.52. It seems that like the Wright Bros. Bell, with the previous work of others was able to bring it to a reality, and then are able to take all the credit.

The Wright Bros, who's work was based on the works of Lientholl( I know, not spelled correctly) and Langley were able to bring it all together into a package that worked wind up getting all the credit for birthing flight itself.
But maybe that's just what it takes, the work of many, some even though they failed or were abandoned, and for others down the road to bring all of it together into what will work.

So it is, that many of our present day heros, got there standing on the shoulders of giants.

[Hagar]

Strange to realise that the M.52 was supposedly cancelled because of its straight wings. Swept wings were currently in fashion due to German WWII research & considered by the "experts" the way to go about breaking that "sound barrier". Bell didn't seem too worried about that.

I find that there are not many original ideas. Most things have been done before but maybe not in the right way or before their time. Give credit to those who did achieve it. I'm not trying to take anything away from the Wright Brothers, Bell Aircraft or Chuck Yeager. This is the way progress is made.

[Woodlouse2002]

Strange to realise that the M.52 was supposedly cancelled because of its straight wings. Swept wings were currently in fashion due to German WWII research & considered by the "experts" the way to go about breaking that "sound barrier". Bell didn't seem too worried about that.

I find that there are not many original ideas. Most things have been done before but maybe not in the right way or before their time. Give credit to those who did achieve it. I'm not trying to take anything away from the Wright Brothers, Bell Aircraft or Chuck Yeager. This is the way progress is made.

Funny that. I heard a theory that the M52 was cancelled for political reasons. Meaning the government decided to let the americans break the sound barrier.

[Woodlouse2002]

Oh yeah, the all moving tailplane on the X.1 was there because the elevators were causing problems at high speeds and the yanks had seen the M.52 and thought... "Ahhh!"

[Hagar]

Funny that. I heard a theory that the M52 was cancelled for political reasons. Meaning the government decided to let the americans break the sound barrier.

I think the truth of the matter was defence cuts. Same old story. Read the article from my link. No use in crying over spilt milk. This all happened a long time ago.

[SabreHawk]

Yes that's right, they sent all the research info over to Bell. And Bell then took up the continuation of it. And subsequently succeeded with it in the X-1 program.

[Hagar]

Yes that's right, they sent all the research info over to Bell.

Needless to say the guys at Miles Aircraft weren't too happy about that. It was supposed to be a reciprocal deal. As it was a government contract they were forced to send the data. As usual, they never got anything in return.