![]() There are other examples but these are the two I can remember off the top of my head. Another good example is the space shuttle which had split fins on its vertical tail which allowed it create a wedge shape at hypersonic speeds, while allowing the tail to close at supersonic and subsonic speeds for increased performance. The x-15 used a wedge shaped fin for exactly this reason, and tests were done with the addition of an air brake at the base of the fun that increases the angle of the wedge at the base of the tail even further, which greatly increased the directional stability at hypersonic speeds. The wedge tail has an increase in drag near the back of the vehicle that increases the directional stability far greater than any traditional airfoil. This is because directional stability of an aircraft decreases extremely fast with increase in Mach numbers approaching hypersonic speed. Wedge shaped air foils are used mostly for hypersonic applications and they are usually used for the vertical tails of the hypersonic aircraft.
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