Airbus has begun a new phase of test flights to analyze the behavior of large wings intended for future single-aisle aircraft. With this, it advances in one of its most relevant research and technological development programs, "Wing of Tomorrow," which has had funding of 227 million pounds (199 million euros) since 2014.
According to the company, over the next three years, full-scale wing extensions will be designed, manufactured, and installed on an A321neo, which will subsequently undergo an intense flight testing program.
These extensions, several meters long each, will be mounted at Airbus's Wing Technology Development Center in the United Kingdom and will be validated in flight campaigns in Toulouse. Complementarily, the manufacturer has already produced three prototypes of 17-meter wings for ground testing.
In parallel, Airbus is using advanced digital models and wind tunnel campaigns to refine the design of these extensions before taking them to a representative flight environment.
The program director, Sue Partridge, emphasizes that it is "important" to remember that the wing is one of the key elements to increase flight efficiency, which is why she considers "Wing of Tomorrow" to be "fundamental" for the next generation of single-aisle aircraft.
At the same time, Airbus UpNext is driving the development of the eXtra Performance WING demonstrator, whose goal is to achieve a wing capable of modifying its shape during flight in order to maximize aerodynamic efficiency.