Engineers Study 'Morphing Aircraft' Idea

PhysOrg.com, accessed 11 Oct 2006 Modern materials are enabling engineers to take a fresh look at the idea of aircraft that can flex, twist or change shape to make them more maneuverable. NASA and the Defense Department are funding research programs to explore ideas. Scientists hope to gain a better understanding of the basic physics of the components and subsystems that will be needed for the next generation of aircraft. The research includes evaluating flexible-skin concepts that have been proposed to enable wings to change shape, improving tools for simulating how morphing structures behave in flight, and looking at using devices within the wing skins to recover or "harvest" energy as the wings move. Read more