Elliptical wing
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An elliptical wing is an aircraft wing planform shape introduced in the 1930s and designed to minimize induced drag. The elliptical taper shortens the chord near the wingtips in such a way that all parts of the wing contribute equally to lift which improves aerodynamic efficiency (greater Oswald efficiency number in the induced drag equation).
The elliptical wing has seen only limited use because of two problems. First, the wing is difficult and expensive to manufacture. Second, uniform contribution to lift means the entire span of the wing stalls simultaneously which can produce a loss of control with little warning. To deal with the latter, aircraft such as Supermarine Spitfire used a modified elliptical wing. Of course, such a compromise reduced the wing’s efficiency.
Due to the expense, only a few mass-produced aircraft used the elliptical wing. The most famous example is the Spitfire World War II fighter. Early models of the German Heinkel He 111 bomber also used an elliptical planform. In addition, a number of contemporary aircraft used a more conventional wing with elliptical wingtips in an attempt to reap some benefits without the added cost, but the aerodynamic advantage was found to be minimal.
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