Laminar flow wing11/3/2023 Laminar-flow control is a technology that offers the potential for significant improvement in drag coefficient which would provide improvements in aircraft fuel usage, range or endurance that far exceed any known single aeronautical technology. Although useful testing was accomplished, the extensive maintenance of the intricate laminar-flow system caused the end of the program. The aircraft first flew on 18 April 1963 with NASA test pilot Jack Wells at the controls. It was based on the Douglas WB-66D airframe, with the wing-mounted engines moved to the rear fuselage and making space for air compressors. The Northrop X-21A was an experimental aircraft designed to test wings with laminar flow control. Such a device is being considered as potential protection against insect contamination on the leading edge – which could disturb the laminar flow – and as a high-lift device for take-off and landing.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Test are scheduled to continue until 2019, with a plan to assess the effects of wing contamination on the laminar flow and to install a fixed Krüger flap. The manufacturer is "very confident" that the project will achieve "more than we targeted", he says.Īirbus estimates that laminar-flow wings could reduce drag by around 10%, cutting fuel burn by up to 5% on an 800nm (1,480km) sector.įurthermore, the aerodynamic benefits could be sustained during the flight tests at Mach 0.78 – a typical cruise speed for A320-family jets – while Airbus previously predicted that the aircraft would need to fly at M0.75 to deliver the fuel savings.įlaig says the test have shown "the door is wide open" to employ the technology on a potential next-generation single-aisle aircraft from the late 2020s. The right wing section followed a more conventional design with a carbonfibre upper wing surface and a separate metallic leading edge.įlaig acknowledges small differences in aerodynamic effects between the two structures, but says both wings sustainably generate the desired effect. While the theory and potential benefits of having an orderly, laminar, rather than turbulent, air flow in the boundary layer around the wings have been known since the 1980s, the challenge has been to manufacture wings on an industrial scale that are smooth and aerodynamically stable enough to sustain the benefits in regular airline operations.Ī key area of the BLADE project has been to assess how robust the laminar flow is when the wing flexes and twists in the air, and which design methods can be employed to build such aerofoils.Īirbus and its industrial partners constructed the left wing laminar-flow section with an integrated upper-wing surface and leading edge, which was made of carbonfibre and required an extremely high degree of accuracy. He says laminar flow could be observed from the aircraft's first flight and that the flow is more stable than expected. Some 66 flight hours have been completed under the partly EU-funded project – dubbed Breakthrough Laminar Aircraft Demonstrator in Europe (BLADE) – said Airbus senior vice-president research and technology Axel Flaig, speaking at the ILA air show in Berlin on 25 April. In September 2017, the airframer began a flight-test campaign with an A340 that has been modified with reshaped outer wing sections to assess natural laminar flow on the aerofoil's upper surface. Airline Business special: CEOs to watch in 2021Īirbus says the drag-reducing effects of the experimental wings on its laminar-flow demonstrator aircraft are proving better than previously thought, making application of the technology on a next-generation aircraft more feasible.FlightGlobal Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2021.EDGE: A new global force in aerospace and defence.Shell Aviation: What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?. What does the future of aviation look like in 2022?.Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2022.
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