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Headline: Airbus' New Jet Concept Flaps Its Wings Like A Bird

Caption: Plane manufacturer Airbus has unveiled a scale model airplane that flaps its wings during flight. The model, named AlbatrossONE, has been going through various stages of testing since last year, and recently hit a new milestone by completing a successful ‘gate-to-gate’ proof of concept flight. While the AlbatrossONE fuselage looks more or less the same as the aircraft we’re used to flying on, the model is equipped with longer-than-normal wings that are able to bend backwards and forwards at the tip, which Airbus says will allow for more efficient flight. The design team used the albatross’s wings - which are capable of reacting to wind gusts by flexing - as inspiration for their new model. “The albatross’ wing-tips are actually somewhat analogous to semi-aeroelastic hinged wing-tips,” project leader Tom Wilson said after the successful flight. “The albatross can ‘lock’ its wings at the shoulder to travel long distances, but when faced with wind gusts, it can ‘unlock’ its shoulder to better navigate wind speeds.” In the case of the AlbatrossONE, its hinged wing-tips flapped in the wind. The experimental aircraft’s wing-tips are 75 percent longer than those used in an earlier test. The longer wing-tips also let the aircraft “surf” through wind gusts, without transferring bending loads to the main wing. “This requires less material, such as carbon-fiber reinforced polymers, to make the wing strong enough to withstand gust loads,” added James Kirk, chief engineer on the project. “It not only reduces the weight of the aircraft, but the length of the wing-tip can be extended because the extra loads are not passed to the main wing.” The new design would allow much greater wing spans for big reductions in fuel burn and carbon emissions. “The semi-aeroelastic hinged wing-tips’ span could potentially be increased beyond 150 feet without increasing wing weight,” says Wilson. The longer wings would also have longer flapping wing-tips. “There’s still a lot of engineering work required before we can prove it’s a viable product,” says Kirk. “We’re motivated to achieve this goal, and inspire other engineers to think ambitiously about future aircraft.”

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