 Largely through accident, the shape maintained laminar flow further back from its leading edge, to about 20 or 30% of chord compared to the 5 to 20% managed by most airfoil sections of the era.Although other designs greatly improved on this, with some designs maintaining laminar flow to upwards of 60% of chord, the Davis wing represented a great improvement at the time.The thick profile of the wing quickly led to its being superseded.