The aerospace manufacturer announced the start of the flight-test phase for the “Wing of Tomorrow” project at the Farnborough International Airshow this past July. The wings on these new airliners will be significantly longer than current ones, so they will be designed to fold, much like the wings of carrier-based aircraft.
A demonstrator aircraft based on the Airbus A321neo and equipped with a prototype of the new wing is scheduled to take to the skies before the end of this year.
The European manufacturer has been developing this wing for next-generation narrow-body aircraft for over a decade. It will be more elongated than the wings on modern airliners, increasing the length of each wing by approximately 5 meters. This increased span will improve aerodynamic efficiency—specifically, the lift-to-drag ratio. Airbus expects this factor alone to boost flight efficiency and environmental performance by more than 10%.
“Sorry to get in the way”
The wingspan of this future design exceeds the 36-meter limit established for aircraft in the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 class. On the tarmac, an aircraft with such long wings would resemble someone in a crowd sticking their elbows out and bumping into their neighbors; consequently, the wings will be designed to fold, similar to those on carrier-based aircraft.
Creating a folding wing involves more than simply installing hinges and a folding mechanism. Engineers must redesign the structural framework and rebalance the wing to account for changes in weight and structural integrity.
To accelerate testing, Airbus decided not to wait for a fully functional folding wing to be ready; instead, it will conduct flights over the next three years using a version without the folding mechanism. However, the prototype will incorporate the performance characteristics of the folding version.
These flights are essential to verify the safety of the new design and to gain a better understanding of how such wings behave under various operating conditions. Given today’s stringent requirements for aircraft, the testing program spans years; the sooner it begins, the sooner production aircraft will appear.
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