OK, Forktaileddevil … If self-preservation wasn’t important to me, I’d have to go with the Fulcrum because it is such a beautiful machine. But self-preservation doesn’t sound so bad to me!

Also, it must be very exciting to be a pilot in China right now, with the rapid progress that is being made there. You asked what would make us the proudest to fly? I’m sure I would be very proud to be part of this fighter’s introduction to service.

This is **** Hardy, ATF program director for Boeing, explaining why designers chose a diamond wing for the F-22. The quote was taken from the October 1998 issue of Code One magazine.

“The structural engineers wanted a diamond wing because it provides a larger root chord, which carries bending moments better,” Hardy notes. “The aerodynamicists wanted a trapezoidal wing because it provides more aspect ratio, which is good for aerodynamics. **** Heppe, the president of Lockheed California Company, made the final decision, and he was right. The aerodynamics were not all that different, but the structure and weights were significantly better. So we went to a diamond shape. The big root chord, though, moved the tails back. Eventually we even had to notch the wing for the front of the tails. If the tails moved farther back, they would fall off the airplane.”