Richard Whitcomb significantly impacted modern airplane design through inventions like winglets, the supercritical airfoil, and the transonic area rule. Whitcomb's transonic area rule, though possibly ...

In the mid-to-late 40s, in the thick of WWIII, engineers designing fighters were discovering that something unusual would happen when planes reached transonic and supersonic levels of speed. Shock ...

Built with the area rule in mind, the narrow-waisted Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the U.S. Air Force’s main interceptor from the 1960s to the 1980s. Staff Sgt. John K. McDowell Mark Mallari of Manila, ...

Why do supersonic planes have narrow fuselages over the wings? Why are engines slightly forward? It’s all about the "Area Rule," a fascinating design principle that reduces drag and increases speed.