👨🔬 Led by Airbus subsidiary and #TechnologyIncubator Airbus UpNext, the #eXtraPerformanceWing project aims to improve #FlightPerformance and respond to #environmental concerns by completely rethinking aircraft #wings as we know them today.
🦅 Using #Biomimicry – biologically inspired #engineering – the project seeks to develop a wing that can change #shapeandform during flight to maximise its #aerodynamic efficiency.
🛩 While the technologies could be applicable to any kind of #aircraft and propulsion system, the chosen demonstrator is a modified Cessna #CitationVII #BusinessJet. As the targeted #wingspan is more than 50m (that’s long: an #A320 wingspan is 35.8m), the Cessna’s 16m wingspan represents an approximately one-third scale model of the final design.
🪽 Launched in September 2021, it is part of Airbus' Wing #Research portfolio. #AirbusUpNext seeks to fast-track #futuretechnologies by developing radical technological breakthroughs in an agile environment. The overall goal is to provide multiple wing configurations that dynamically adapt to flight conditions. “It changes the shape of the wing by mimicking a bird's feathers, will adjust automatically to maximise aerodynamic flow” says Sebastien Blanc, project Technical Director.
📏 There are also the #hingedwingtips, which have a dual purpose. On the ground they prevent the aircraft from exceeding the max #wingspan length that can be accommodated at #airport gates (36m), and in the air they are #flexible, able to change shape to avoid putting too much pressure on the wing.
📡 A remote operation system will be integrated into the aircraft, followed by flights to test the communication between the antennas and the ground control centre. Then, in 2024, the wings will be attached to the Cessna and undergo #GroundTesting before the #FirstFlights begin in 2025.
🕹 The demonstrator will be remotely piloted during flight testing to enable #UpNext to push the technologies onboard to their limits, alleviating the need to certify it for human flight. “We want the flight testing to expose the eXtra Performance Wing to as many realistic flying situations as possible,” explains Blanc. “We are already seeing the fruits of our labour, and we have learned so much along the way. We have a real opportunity here to make a contribution to reducing #fuelburn. Just having the potential to change the #aerospaceindustry like this is huge.”
🇬🇧🇪🇸🇩🇪🇫🇷 The demonstrator’s production is a classic example of collaboration between Airbus’ four founding nations: the #UK is manufacturing the wings, #Spain will build the #foldingwingtips, and the #HighLift system will be designed in #Germany. The modification and assembly of the aircraft will take place in #France.
#wingsoftomorrow #CO2emmisions #FutureofFlight #fuelconsumption #innovación #lift #drag #WindTunnel #3Dprinted #fuelburn
The Airbus UpNext eXtra Performance Wing demonstrator has taken off for the first time! The demonstrator is a modified Cessna Citation VII, and its first flight aims to establish baseline measurements that will be used to determine the reductions in fuel burn and #CO2emissions when the eXtra Performance Wings are tested in flight in 2025.
As part of our research into potential wing technologies for next-generation aircraft, the eXtra Performance Wing project seeks to develop technologies that could reduce fuel consumption on the next generation of aircraft.
Learn more about the history of the eXtra Performance Wing and what's to come before it takes flight in 2025: https://bit.ly/47qw0DJ
#FutureofFlight
Industry Engagement Lead - Dept. of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering. South East Technological University (SETU)
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