The Perfect Airplane Wing

Before the outbreak of World War II, relations between British and German aeronautical engineers were sufficiently cordial for Reginald Mitchell, chief designer of the Supermarine Spitfire, to write to his German counterpart, Ernst Heinkel, congratulating him on his He 70 Blitz. The Blitz (German for lightning), designed in 1932, was a fast five-seat mailplane. One of its noteworthy features was the elliptical planform of its wing; another was the extremely smooth surface finish of its… (www.airspacemag.com) Altro...