{"id":332850,"date":"2025-12-19T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=938763"},"modified":"2025-12-19T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:00:00","slug":"nasa-boeing-test-how-to-improve-performance-of-longer-narrower-aircraft-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=332850","title":{"rendered":"NASA, Boeing Test How to Improve Performance of Longer, Narrower Aircraft Wings\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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5 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Integrated Adaptive Wing Technology Maturation wind-tunnel model installed in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.<\/div>\n
NASA \/ Mark Knopp<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The airliner you board in the future could look a lot different from today\u2019s, with longer, thinner wings that provide a smoother ride while saving fuel. <\/p>\n

Those wings would be a revolutionary design for commercial aircraft, but like any breakthrough technology, they come with their own development challenges \u2013 which experts from NASA and Boeing are now working to solve. <\/p>\n

When creating lift, longer, thinner wings can reduce drag, making them efficient. However, they can become very flexible in flight. <\/p>\n

Through their Integrated Adaptive Wing Technology Maturation collaboration, NASA and Boeing recently completed wind tunnel tests of a \u201chigher aspect ratio wing model\u201d looking for ways to get the efficiency gains without the potential issues these kinds of wings can experience. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have a very flexible wing, you\u2019re getting into greater motions,\u201d said Jennifer Pinkerton, a NASA aerospace engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. \u201cThings like gust loads and maneuver loads can cause even more of an excitation than with a smaller aspect ratio wing. Higher aspect ratio wings also tend to be more fuel efficient, so we\u2019re trying to take advantage of that while simultaneously controlling the aeroelastic response.\u201d  <\/p>\n

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