Jay Clemens
NASA has completed flight tests on technology onboard the Boeing-developed ecoDemonstrator 757 airplane that are designed to cut fuel consumption and emissions.
NASA researchers installed sweeping jet actuators on the aircraft’s vertical tail to  evaluate its contribution to stability during takeoffs and landings, the space agency said Monday.
“If we can control the flow of air over the vertical tail on demand, we believe we can provide enough side force during takeoff and landing that aircraft manufacturers can safely make the tail smaller,” said Mike Alexander, lead systems engineer for the flight tests at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
“The ability to reduce the size of the vertical tail would reduce weight and drag and decrease fuel consumption and emissions,†Alexander added.
NASA flew the airplane between Seattle and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, north of the Puget Sound, from April 9 through 15 in different conditions and configurations to demonstrate the active flow control technology.
The space agency plans to test different wing coatings on the aircraft in Shreveport, Louisiana, as the next stage of the flight experiments.
