Mary L.

Sandy
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. August 23, 1990
(Phone: 202/453-2754)

H. Keith Henry
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
(Phone: 804/864-6120)

RELEASE: 90-115

FLIGHT TESTS PROVE CONCEPT FOR JETLINER FUEL ECONOMY

The aerodynamic efficiency of future aircraft may improve

sharply due to better-than-expected findings from a joint
government-industry flight test program concluded this month.
Such improved flight efficiency would result in reduced fuel
consumption and lower operational costs for the U.S. airline
industry.

Boeing modified a 22-foot section of a Boeing-757's wing

outboard of the left engine and performed all the flight tests.
Laminar air flow was achieved over the first 65 percent of the
upper surface of the modified wing section, measured from the
leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing, the first time the
suction system was used and on all subsequent flights during the
5-month test period.

If the entire span of both wings was modified, a reduction

in total airplane drag of up to 10 percent or more, depending on
the application, could be realized. Each percent of drag
eliminated by the U.S. transport fleet represents an estimated
savings in fuel costs to the U.S. airline industry of $100
million annually.

NASA, Boeing and Air Force officials hailed the flight tests
as one of the most significant events in the history of
boundary-layer control. "We've known for years that laminar flow
could be obtained under ideal conditions," Boeing Program Manager
A. L. "Del" Nagel explained. "The real problem has been the
difficulty of manufacturing sufficiently smooth permeable wing
structure at reasonable cost. Now we've shown that we can do
that."

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The research was aimed at preventing much of the turbulence

that occurs naturally in the thin boundary layer of air at the
surface of an aircraft's wing. Turbulence over the wing
increases skin-friction drag, requiring the aircraft to use more
fuel. In contrast, a smooth or "laminar" air flow significantly
improves aerodynamic efficiency by reducing drag, which results
in lower fuel consumption. The program is the first to
demonstrate "hybrid laminar flow control" (HLFC) in flight.

Early investigations in the 1930's and 1940's showed that

careful shaping of wings could achieve some laminar flow. But
this "natural" laminar flow works only under restricted
conditions. A more powerful technique, called laminar flow
control, pulls a small amount of the boundary layer air through a
porous or slotted wing skin by means of a suction system.

Laminar flow control has limitations, too. The holes or

slots along major portions of the wing could compromise
structural soundness or get clogged by insects or dirt. NASA and
Boeing met this challenge by developing a variation called hybrid
laminar flow control that limits the air extraction system to the
leading edge, followed by a run of natural laminar flow.

The suction surface was a titanium skin with approximately

19 million tiny laser-drilled, closely spaced holes. A leading
edge "Krueger" flap was integrated into the wing high-lift system
to serve as an insect shield during takeoffs and landings.

The design incorporated innovations from earlier laminar

flow projects using a NASA C-140 JetStar and the Air Force's X-21
research airplane. It also used the detailed data base gathered
during NASA's F-14 Variable Sweep Transition Flight Experiment
and the agency's 757 Natural Laminar Flow and Wing Noise Program.

NASA is considering a possible future flight test that would

look at application of hybrid laminar flow at the inboard parts
of the wings.

Greater drag reduction is anticipated on new aircraft with

hybrid laminar flow incorporated in their initial designs.
Government and industry researchers believe that HLFC technology
could be introduced in new aircraft designs during this decade.

The program was jointly funded by NASA's Langley Research

Center, Hampton, Va., Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Seattle,
and the U.S. Air Force Wright Research and Development Center,
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

TO: MDS/PRA Group

1615 L Street, N.W. - Suite 100
Washington, D.C. 20036

DATE & TIME: AUGUST 23, 1990

ORDERED BY: Edward Campion

NASA Headquarters/LMD
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20546 PHONE: 202/453-8400

PROJECT TITLE: Release No: 90-115

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PRINTING: Camera Ready, lst pg on NASA logo, other pages plain

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MAIL DATE: AUGUST 23, 1990

EXTRA COPIES: Deliver specified quanities to locations below:

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