Aerodynamic flight control has seen little change in the last 90 years. Successive aircraft may have brought small incremental improvements in wing design, but the legacy of stall/spin or Loss of Control problems has persisted. 

Loss of Control has topped both the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) “Most Wanted List” for the last four years running.  Historically, it is the leading cause of commercial jet aviation losses worldwide, many military losses and half of all general aviation fatalities.  Remotely piloted aircraft or drones are even more susceptible.

Conventional design mandates conflict between lateral control (ailerons) and slow speed performance (flaps).  In slow flight this conflict compromises performance, flight handling qualities, and safety.  At the same time, it leaves untapped much in the way of high-speed aircraft performance.

All solutions thus far have been resigned to accepting the troublesome aerodynamics.  They shrink the flight envelope, either using aerodynamic band-aids or electronically activated governors, hoping to prevent pilots and aircraft from entering these dangerous areas.  But the epidemic of accidents and fatalities continues.

And yet, those risky parts of the flight envelope are also areas of high performance, for example, high angles of attack.