New plane wing moves like a bird's and could radically change aircraft design
Updated 3rd April 2019
Written by Hilary Whiteman, CNN
Plane wings are traditionally strong, thick and sturdy but a team of researchers led by NASA has created a flexible wing that morphs as it flies.
Measuring 14 feet or four meters wide, the new wing is constructed from thousands of units that fit together and function in a similar way to a bird's wing, says one of the report's authors, NASA research engineer, Nick Cramer.
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"Something like a condor will lock its joints in while it's cruising, and then it (adjusts) its wing to a more optimal shape for its cruising, and then when it wants to do a more aggressive maneuver it'll unlock its shoulder. That's a similar response to what we're doing here," he said in a phone interview.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/nasa-mit-airplane-wing/index.html
