I've seen and used an antenna as a substitute spike at the end of aircraft noses in KSP when designing for Ferram Aerospace. Aside from the somewhat cheaty way of avoiding cockpit overheating on re-entry in game, what are these spikes used for on real aircraft?
The classic example is the Bell X-1. Strangely, that Wikipedia article doesn't explain the purpose of those spikes on the nose and wings.
I barely remember a History Channel show or some documentary that explained the sharp point was good for subsonic flight and then the rounded nose was better for supersonic flight, and this combination design was a compromise.
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