Development
The Dyke Delta is an example of an experimental amateur-built aircraft.
Dyke is reputed to have said that the Delta "flies like other planes should but don't", probably referring to the benign (virtually non-existent) stalling characteristics at low all-up weights.
Designer John Dyke said his inspiration for the aircraft came from Alexander Lippisch's delta designs, specifically the LP-6 glider and later the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. The double delta layout of the Saab 35 Draken was incorporated into the design. A lifting body fuselage was incorporated after tests.
For research into the proposed layout, Dyke built models mounted on the front of his car and flew radio-controlled models to determine aerodynamic qualities. When the original Dyke JD-1 Delta was destroyed in a garage fire, after 145 hours of flight-testing, his wife persuaded Dyke to build an improved version as the Dyke JD-2 Delta.
The Dyke Delta JD-2 is among the most successful delta-wing civilian aircraft ever designed, flying for the first time on July 18, 1966, with the prototype flying over 2,000 flight hours in 40 years.
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