Feather-Inspired Wing Flaps Could Boost Aircraft Lift and Performance, Claims New Study
Bird-inspired wing flaps might be the future of aviation, providing a boost to flight performance by improving lift and reducing drag. In a recent study, engineers investigated how “covert feathers” – the layered, overlapping feathers on bird wings – could be mimicked on aircraft wings to improve manoeuvrability and stability. According to a study, installing lightweight, passive flaps across an aircraft's wing surfaces could provide significant aerodynamic advantages, enabling planes to achieve enhanced lift and reduced drag. A New Approach to Aircraft Flap Design As per to research published on October 28 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Traditional aircraft wings typically use flaps and spoilers, controlled by mechanical systems to manage airflow during flight. However, this bio-inspired approach aims to replace complex controls with a passive design that activates solely through air pressure changes at high angles of attack – the position where wings
