Reduced loss swept supersonic fan blade

A fan blade rotating about a central axis at an angular velocity sufficient to result in a supersonic relative velocity between a portion of the blade and an axially flowing stream of air, including a leading edge, a trailing edge, a plurality of blade airfoil segments forming a suction surface extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge, each segment defining a point of maximum camber and a corresponding minimum static pressure point on the suction surface, the segments collectively defining a blade having a span extending from a radially inward root end to a radially outward tip end, and the points of maximum camber collectively defining a maximum camber line along the suction surface of the blade,

• characterized in that
• the line of maximum camber in that portion of the blade experiencing supersonic relative velocity is swept with respect to the airflow such that any one minimum static pressure point on the blade suction surface falls within a Mach cone defined at any other minimum static pressure point lying both on the blade suction surface and upstream of the one minimum static pressure point.