The secret to the flight of the hummingbird and other tiny birds and insects lies in the looping, swirling flow of air, called a vortex, that their flapping wings create. These aerodynamically ...

Key Points and Summary – NASA and Grumman’s X-29 was a 1980s–90s technology demonstrator that flipped convention with forward-swept wings and canards to probe extreme maneuvering and ...

High-aspect-ratio wings push conventional tube-and-wing aircraft to record-high aerodynamic performance levels, and blended wing body concepts rethink the entire airframe as a lifting surface.

Recent research demonstrated that, although most wing shapes used today create turbulent wake vortices, wing geometrics can be designed to reduce or eliminate wingtip vortices almost entirely. In the ...

The US Air Force (USAF) has successfully tested a new aerial refuelling technique known as reverse flow, in which a transport aircraft transfers jet fuel to a tanker. The demonstration, which took ...

The ability of modern airplane surfaces to achieve laminar flow has been well-accepted in recent years. Obtaining the maximum benefit of laminar flow for aircraft drag reduction requires maintaining ...