NASA successfully tests shape-changing airplane wings

NASA has successfully tested a shape-changing wing design that could do away with the conventional flaps seen on commercial airliners

Since last year, NASA researchers have been conducting the tests in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and engineering company FlexSys Inc.

"The completion of this flight test campaign at Armstrong [Flight Research Center] is a big step for NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation [ERA] Project," said the project's manager, Fay Collier. "This is the first of eight large-scale integrated technology demonstrations ERA is finishing up this year that are designed to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment." Read more...