XF-91 tries its inverse-taper wings | Aviation Week, May 23, 1949

 

Republic Aviation Corp.'s XF-91 jet and rocket-powered fighter is shown on its first flight at Muroc Air Force Base, Calif. With rocket units not yet installed, power for initial hop was furnished by a General Electric J-47 jet engine of 5000 lb. thrust.

XF-91 according to Republic, is the first U. S. plane to use inverse tapering of the wings, which are wider at the tips than at the roots. Top, the 91 takes off; in lower photo, the plane is caught as it is flying over the desert.