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Airplane Coatings Help Recoup Fuel Efficiency Lost To Bug Splatter

Posted by samzenpus on from the and-stay-off dept.

MTorrice writes: When bugs hit the wings of oncoming airplanes, they create a problem. Their blood, called hemolymph, sticks to an airplane's wings, disrupting the smooth airflow over them and reducing the aircraft's fuel efficiency. To fight the problem, NASA is working on developing a coating that could help aircraft repel bug remains during flight. After experimenting with almost 200 different formulations, researchers recently flight-tested a few promising candidates. Results showed that they could reduce the amount of stuck bug guts on the wings by up to 40%. With further optimization, NASA says such coatings could allow planes to use 5% less fuel.

1 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I'm skeptical of the 5% claim by Falconhell · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's not weight, it's maintaining laminar flow. It only takes very small objects to turbulate the boundary layer, increasing drag considerably.