Experiments are conducted to study the tulip-shaped and cone-shaped liquid sheets formed in swirl nozzles. It is shown that waves rapidly grow on the cone-shaped sheets and lead to its rupture unlike in the tulip-shaped sheet. The transition from a tulip to cone-shaped sheet occurs when the liquid phase Weber number exceeds about 150. The growth of the waves and the stability of the swirled liquid sheets are discussed. © 1997 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.