These discoveries could prove to be vital for the future of the aviation sector. Climate change is causing weather patterns to become more erratic and severe. Over the last forty years, the occurrence of extreme turbulence has risen by 55 percent. To guarantee the safety of passengers, it is essential for aircraft to become more resilient and capable of executing agile maneuvers in difficult conditions without jeopardizing aircraft stability or passenger safety.
Concurrently, the volume of air traffic is increasing, making it essential to investigate innovations that enhance aircraft efficiency and contribute to the decarbonization of flying without relying exclusively on advancements in fuel technology. Passive improvements could not only achieve this but do so independently of intricate electronic systems.
Nevertheless, the journey toward commercial adoption of such technologies is fraught with challenges—and this has been the case for many other technologies inspired by nature. For example, in the 1980s, researchers found that sharks possess tiny protrusions known as riblets on their bodies, which reduce drag as they swim through water. They hypothesized that applying a similar design to aircraft could significantly decrease fuel consumption. In 1997, studies confirmed that shark-skin-like riblets could lower drag on airplanes by almost 10 percent. However, commercial trials on actual aircraft did not commence until 2016.
Lufthansa Technik, a German aerospace firm, ultimately created AeroSHARK, a surface technology for aircraft inspired by shark skin. “Currently, 25 aircraft across seven airlines have been outfitted with our sharkskin technology, and this number is steadily increasing,” states Lea Klinge, a spokesperson for Lufthansa Technik. She points out that such innovations demand decades of research and that incorporating new solutions into existing fleets without disrupting operations presents a significant challenge.
In contemplating how to scale these feather-inspired flaps, “there are various logistical hurdles regarding what materials we can use for these flaps and how we can effectively attach them to the wings,” Wissa notes. The deployment of such innovation wouldn’t be as straightforward as simply adding the plastic film to the small prototype aircraft utilized in the team’s experiment. “Integrating innovative solutions on a commercial scale is often complex and multidisciplinary,” observes Ruxandra Botez, an aerospace engineer at ETS Montreal. An aircraft must undergo multiple safety tests and certifications, which can take several years. Botez also mentions that most contemporary aircraft are developed through incremental improvements on previous designs, with manufacturers hesitant to diverge significantly from established models.
However, Lentink contends that prioritizing commercial scalability is the wrong mindset. He argues that if innovations with clear scalability are the only ones pursued, researchers risk stifling creativity. “To truly innovate in aerospace, you must explore completely unconventional ideas,” he asserts. Staying too aligned with immediate applications restricts engineers’ potential to create groundbreaking solutions. He believes that the current design of the feather-inspired flaps is likely not yet ready for immediate use. “But I perceive this not as a setback,” he clarifies. “I see it as researchers formulating critical concepts that can now be further developed along this technological pathway towards application.”
The scientists consulted by WIRED emphasize that the future of aircraft design must continue to draw inspiration from the natural world. Birds exhibit agility, capability, and maneuverability far beyond human-engineered machines. “If our goal is to create aircraft that can operate efficiently and adaptively amidst unpredictable conditions, we will inevitably need to integrate elements of bird flight into future designs,” states Sedky.
Even if these feather-inspired innovations don’t make their way to large commercial airliners, Wissa suggests they could revolutionize small aircraft, which are anticipated to play a critical role in the aviation landscape, particularly in areas like package delivery or urban air mobility—various startups are currently developing flying taxi services, for example. Such aircraft will likely need to take off and land in confined spaces. These innovations could enhance lift and control during crucial high-angle maneuvers.
“As aircraft shrink in size, they also become more vulnerable to external factors such as gusts, strong winds, and turbulent airflows,” Wissa explains. With these flaps, the small flying vehicles of the future may be able to manage “gusts that would otherwise throw an aircraft out of the sky.”
