AVIATION is about to go back to its roots. Nearly 100 years after the Wright brothers’ first heavier-than-air powered flight, the US Air Force is testing an experimental plane that uses “wing warping”, the steering and control technique that kept Orville Wright aloft in 1903. But this time round, it will be at supersonic speeds.
Unlike conventional aircraft wings, which use movable surfaces like flaps and ailerons for control, wing warping bends the entire wing. The USAF calls it “active aeroelastic wing” technology, and is investing $41 million in the project in the hope that it will lead to lighter,…
