AviationBanter - View Single Post

**[email protected]** · November 27th 06, 07:43 PM posted to rec.aviation.military.naval

wrote:
On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 20:31:53 GMT, "DDAY"
postulated :

What I'm trying to explore is why that is. Why was this technology really
popular for a couple of decades and then phased out? I don't think you can
say that better airfoil or wing technology replaced it. It's just that
requirements changed and the swing-wing was a solution that no longer fit
the existing problem set. But I'm willing to be proven wrong.

The swing wing was a maintenance nightmare.

Altho very complicated, wing sweep mechanism issues, onboard the CV,
was nothing compared to the 'nightmares' of avionics, engines, slat
tube breaking, etc. In 2 cruises, I don't remember any of the jets were
ever down for wingsweep. If it was, it was the CADC/computer that was
gooned up, not the mechanism itself. In a painfully diffucult jet to
maintain, wingsweep was a non issue.