Boeing X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing
The X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) development program is a completed research project that was undertaken jointly by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing Phantom Works and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, where the technology was flight tested on a modified McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Active Aeroelastic Wing Technology is a technology that integrates wing aerodynamics, controls, and structure to harness and control wing aeroelastic twist at high speeds and dynamic pressures. By using multiple leading and trailing edge controls like "aerodynamic tabs", subtle amounts of aeroelastic twist can be controlled to provide large amounts of wing control power, while minimizing maneuver air loads at high wing strain conditions or aerodynamic drag at low wing strain conditions. The flight program which first proved the use of AAW technology in full scale was the X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing program.
Gerry Miller and Jan Tulinius led the development of the initial concept during wind tunnel testing in the mid 1980s under Air Force contract. The designation "X-52" was skipped in sequence to avoid confusion with the B-52 Stratofortress bomber.
Read more about Boeing X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing: Design and Development, Specifications
Famous quotes containing the words active and/or wing:
“In this lucid and flexible pattern only one thing remained always stationary, but this fallacy went unnoticed by Martha. The blind spot was the victim. The victim showed no signs of life before being deprived of it. If anything, the corpse which had to be moved and handled before burial seemed more active than its biological predecessor.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“As if her velvet helmet high
Did turret rationality.
She fans her wing up to the winde
As if her Pettycoate were lin’de
With reasons fleece, and hoises saile
And humming flies in thankfull gaile”
—Edward Taylor (1645–1729)