Leading-edge slot
aerodynamic device on an aircraft leading edge
A leading-edge slot is a fixed aerodynamic feature of the wing of some aircraft to reduce the stall speed and promote good low-speed handling qualities. A leading-edge slot is a spanwise gap in each wing, allowing air to flow from below the wing to its upper surface. In this manner they allow flight at higher angles of attack and thus reduce the stall speed.
Purpose and development
At an angle of attack above about 15° many airfoils enter the stall. Modification of such an airfoil with a fixed leading-edge slot can increase the stalling angle to between 22° and 25°.
Slots were first developed by Handley Page in 1919 and the first aircraft to fly with them was the experimental H.P.17, a modified Airco DH.9A. Their invention is credited jointly to Sir Frederick Handley Page and Gustav Lachmann. The first aircraft fitted with controllable slots was the Handley Page H.P.20. Licensing the design became one of Handley Page's major sources of income in the 1920s.
Similar, but retractable, leading-edge devices are called slats. When the slat opens, it creates a slot between the slat and the remainder of the wing; retracted, the drag is reduced.
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This entry incorporates text from “Leading-edge slot” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.