NASA: Wing Morphing Trials on GIII Testbed Successful
Technology has the potential to lower fuel burns, reduce airframe weight and cut aircraft noise during takeoffs and landings
Project researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., replaced this Gulfstream III testbed's conventional aluminum flaps with shape-changing assemblies that form continuous conformal surfaces with no visible gaps. The test team successfully conducted 22 flights over the past six months from Edwards with the experimental adaptive compliant trailing edge (ACTE) flight control surfaces at flap angles ranging from -2 degrees up to 30 degrees down. (Photo: NASA)
Project researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., replaced this Gulfstream III testbed's conventional aluminum flaps with shape-changing assemblies that form continuous conformal surfaces with no visible gaps. The test team successfully conducted 22 flights over the past six months from Edwards with the experimental adaptive compliant trailing edge (ACTE) flight control surfaces at flap angles ranging from -2 degrees up to 30 degrees down. (Photo: NASA)