Morphing wing technology completes initial flight tests

Working with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and FlexSys Inc, the test team at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, flew 22 research flights over six months with experimental Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) flight control surfaces that are claimed to offer significant improvements over conventional flaps used on existing aircraft.

AFRL began work with FlexSys in 1998 through the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. AFRL and FlexSys developed and wind tunnel tested several wing leading and trailing edge designs for various aircraft configurations through to 2006. In 2009, AFRL and NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project agreed to equip a Gulfstream III jet with ACTE flaps designed and built by FlexSys, incorporating its proprietary technology.

ACTE technology, which can be retrofitted to existing airplane wings or integrated into entirely new airframes, enables engineers to reduce wing structural weight and to aerodynamically tailor the wings to promote improved fuel economy and more efficient operations while also reducing environmental and noise impacts.