Airbus will begin a flight test campaign next year in Toulouse using an A321neo fitted with extended wings, as the European planemaker looks to reduce fuel consumption on its future single-aisle aircraft. The tests will run for three years.
Three types of wing extensions, built at Airbus's Broughton site in the United Kingdom, have already been modeled digitally and tested in wind tunnels. Each will now be fitted in turn to the existing wings of the A321neo and evaluated under operational flight conditions.
Seventeen extra metres of wing
Airbus is aiming for longer, lighter and slimmer wings to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of its upcoming aircraft. Each extension adds 8.5 metres of wing on either side of the aircraft, which would take the A321neo's wingspan from close to 36 metres today to 53 metres. The extensions will be fitted with full measurement equipment to analyze their behavior in flight and assess their effect on how the aircraft handles.
Sue Partridge, the program's manager at Airbus, said the flight test campaign would allow the company to safely push beyond traditional design limits and explore the benefits offered by wings of greater span.
Eventually, the extensions are meant to fold, similar to the system used on the Boeing 777X, making it easier for the aircraft to move on the ground and park at airport gates.
Two programs shaping the wings of tomorrow
The research and technology program behind the tests, called "Wing of Tomorrow," was launched in 2014. It has received 265 million euros in funding from the UK's Aerospace Technology Institute. Beyond studying the benefits of increased wingspan, the trials also aim to explore new industrial processes designed to speed up production rates and cut costs. Around a hundred manufacturing and assembly technologies will be tested over the next three years.
Separately, the Airbus UpNext subsidiary is working on a wing designed to change shape in flight to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. These wings, fitted to a Cessna Citation VII business jet, will be flight tested very soon. A first flight, piloted remotely, is planned from Cazaux in the Gironde region before the end of the year.
