Breaking The Barrier
The Arrow was named for its distinctive delta wing design. Today, of course, we have seen delta wings on many aircraft, large and small. But back then, it was an innovative new concept. And it did a special job.
The barrier that aircraft engineers had long struggled to overcome was that of sound. The secret turned out to be in the wing shape. Delta wings create wave drag, which creates an awful lot of complicated vortexes and forces that enable the plane to fly faster than the speed of sound.