SBIR-Funded FlexSys Tests Morphing Aircraft Wing
FlexSys, a Michigan-based company, has successfully flight-tested adaptive morphing control surfaces on a modified Gulfstream G3 aircraft, a technology developed with SBIR funding from partners like the Air Force Research Laboratory and NASA. The podcast *Emerging Tech Horizons* reported that the technology allows wing sections to change shape seamlessly, improving lift and fuel efficiency. The design reportedly reduces component complexity from 200 parts to a single piece and one motor.
- The partnership between FlexSys and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) began in 1998 through the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. This collaboration led to the development and wind tunnel testing of various morphing wing designs. - The flight tests, part of the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) program, involved 22 flights conducted over six months at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. The technology was tested at flap angles ranging from -2 degrees up to 30 degrees. - Testing of the FlexFoil™ technology, as it is called, took place over three and a half years, reaching altitudes of 40,000 feet and speeds of Mach 0.85. The primary goal was to demonstrate the structural feasibility and robustness of the morphing wing surfaces. - NASA's research indicates that this morphing wing technology could reduce aircraft noise by as much as 30% to 40%. - Potential fuel savings from this technology are estimated to be between 4% and 12%, depending on whether the technology is retrofitted to an existing aircraft or integrated into a new design. - In 2015, Aviation Partners Inc., a leader in winglet technology, formed a joint venture with FlexSys to commercialize the FlexFoil™ technology for the broader aviation market. - The founder of FlexSys, Dr. Sridhar Kota, pioneered the concept of "Distributed Compliance," which uses a joint-less skeletal structure to achieve shape-morphing, a concept inspired by birds.
