Wings that can morph their shape during flight could reduce fuel consumption by
improving the wing's aerodynamics.
Credit: Kenneth Cheung/NASA
Bendable, morphing wings covered with overlapping pieces resembling scales or feathers could be used to build more agile, fuel-efficient aircraft, a new study finds.
Nowadays, conventional aircraft typically rely on hinged flaps known as ailerons to help control the way the planes tilt as they fly. However, when the Wright brothers flew the first airplane, Flyer 1, more than a century ago, they did not use ailerons. Instead, they controlled the aircraft using wires and pulleys that bent and twisted the wood-and-canvas wings.
Scientists have long sought to develop aircraft that can alter or morph their wings during flight, just as birds can. In theory, morphing wings would create smoother aerodynamic surfaces, making an aircraft more agile and efficient than an aircraft that flies with many separate moving surfaces. [Up She Goes! 8 of the Wackiest Early Flying Machines] https://www.livescience.com/56838-morphing-wings-bird-like-aircraft.html
