A variable-sweep wing, colloquially known as a "swing wing", is an airplane wing, or set of wings, that may be swept back and then returned to its original straight position during flight. It allows the aircraft's shape to be modified in flight, and is therefore an example of a variable-geometry aircraft.
Two Dassault Mirage G prototypes, the upper one with wings swept
A Grumman F-14 Tomcat testing an unusual asymmetric wing configuration, a possible in-flight failure case, showing one wing at minimum sweep and one at maximum sweep
The F-111 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to be put into production. Shown are three Australian F-111s.
F-111E on display at the Museum of Aviation, Robins AFB, United States
An airplane or aeroplane, informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research. Worldwide, commercial aviation transports more than four billion passengers annually on airliners and transports more than 200 billion tonne-kilometers of cargo annually, which is less than 1% of the world's cargo movement. Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled such as drones.
The first flight of an airplane, the Wright Flyer on 17 December 1903
North American P-51 Mustang, a World War II fighter aircraft
An All Nippon Airways Boeing 777-300ER taking off from New York JFK Airport
Le Bris and his glider, Albatros II, photographed by Nadar, 1868