When birds land, their wings adjust to the airstreams, allowing them to spend as little energy as possible. By contrast, aeroplanes use clunky landing flaps that help channel the air but also waste large amounts of energy.
A research team, financed by the EU, has developed a new material that allows aeroplane wings to function more like birds' wings. "Our prototype shows that it reduces the aeroplane's fuel consumption by 6% thanks to the reduced air resistance", explains Andreas Lühring, a research scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) in Bremen, which was responsible for developing the new aeroplane wing's "skin" - the surface that allows the flaps to move seamlessly. "And because the material makes the plane lighter, it will consume even less energy."
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