NASA Tests New Airplane Wings with Changeable Shape

The world's largest airplane, built by the late Paul Allen's company Stratolaunch Systems, makes its first test flight in Mojave, California, US April 13, 2019. (Reuters)
The world's largest airplane, built by the late Paul Allen's company Stratolaunch Systems, makes its first test flight in Mojave, California, US April 13, 2019. (Reuters)
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NASA Tests New Airplane Wings with Changeable Shape

The world's largest airplane, built by the late Paul Allen's company Stratolaunch Systems, makes its first test flight in Mojave, California, US April 13, 2019. (Reuters)
The world's largest airplane, built by the late Paul Allen's company Stratolaunch Systems, makes its first test flight in Mojave, California, US April 13, 2019. (Reuters)

A team of US engineers has built a new kind of airplane wing assembled from hundreds of tiny identical pieces and can change shape to control the plane's flight.

According to the researchers, the innovation could provide a significant boost in aircraft production, flight and maintenance efficiency.

The new approach to wing construction, designed by engineers from the NASA and MIT institute, could afford greater flexibility in the design and manufacturing of future aircraft. The new wing design was tested in a NASA wind tunnel.

The Phys.org website reported that instead of requiring separate movable surfaces such as ailerons to control the roll and pitch of the plane, as conventional wings do, the new assembly system makes it possible to deform the whole wing, or parts of it, by incorporating a mix of stiff and flexible components in its structure.

The researchers explained that the result is a wing that is much lighter, and thus much more energy efficient, than those with conventional designs, whether made from metal or composites, because the structure, comprising thousands of tiny triangles of matchstick-like struts, is composed mostly of empty space.

In a related context, the world's largest aircraft flew over the Mojave Desert in California. Made of carbon composites, this new airplane was produced by Stratolaunch Systems as it entered the private space market.

Stratolaunch was founded by Paul Allen, the late co-founder of Microsoft. The white aircraft took off and remained in the sky for over two hours before landing safely at the Mojave airport.



Apple Takes Fight Against $587 Million EU Antitrust Fine to Court

FILE PHOTO: Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at The Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020.  REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at The Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
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Apple Takes Fight Against $587 Million EU Antitrust Fine to Court

FILE PHOTO: Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at The Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020.  REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at The Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

Apple took a challenge against EU regulators to Europe's second highest court on Monday after they fined it 500 million euros ($587 million) earlier this year for breaching landmark rules aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech.

The European Commission in a decision in April said the iPhone maker's technical and commercial restrictions that prevent app developers from steering users to cheaper deals outside the App Store breached the Digital Markets Act.