Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Shape-shifting wings developed by researchers at NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and Michigan-based FlexSys Inc. have successfully completed a series of initial fight tests, officials at the US space agency announced earlier this week.
The technology–which NASA claims has the potential to significantly reduce fuel costs, airframe weight, and noise during takeoffs and landings–went on 22 test flights over a six-month span, test teams at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California said.
Known as Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) flight control surfaces, the wings can be adjusted as needed. For the purposes of the test flights, however, the curvature was set anywhere from -2 to 30 degrees. Ultimately, the flexible wings could allow planes to be lighter and quieter while potentially saving millions of dollars in fuel costs.
Results will be used to guide future aircraft development
AFRL and FlexSys first started collaborating through the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program in 1998, NASA said, and the two firms developed and used wind tunnels to test several different designs through 2006. In 2009, NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project got involved as it and the AFRL agreed to outfit a Gulfstream III jet with ACTE flaps designed and built by their private sector, Michigan-based partner.
The technology can be retrofitted to existing airplane wings or integrated into new airframes, the agency explained. The flight tests were designed to prove the concept was airworthy, they added, and both primary and secondary objectives were completed successfully and within budget. The test results will be used to help guide the development of future large transport aircraft.
In a statement, ERA project manager Fay Collier said that “the completion of this flight test campaign at Armstrong is a big step for NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project. This is the first of eight large-scale integrated technology demonstrations ERA is finishing up this year that are designed to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment.”
“We are thrilled to have accomplished all of our flight test goals without encountering any significant technical issues,” added AFRL Program Manager Pete Flick from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. “These flights cap 17 years of technology maturation, beginning with AFRL’s initial Phase 1 SBIR contract with FlexSys, and the technology now is ready to dramatically improve aircraft efficiency for the Air Force and the commercial aviation industry.”
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