NASA Tests Next-Generation Composite Wing

The Passive Aeroelastic Tailored wing is tested in a fixture at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Flight Loads Laboratory in California. (NASA Photo/Ken Ulbrich)

Two series of structural tests on a uniquely designed, high-aspect-ratio, lightweight experimental test article could demonstrate a new method of wing design and fabrication. The Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) wing – a tow steered composite wing – is the most highly instrumented wing NASA has ever tested.

The next step after completing the tests is to compare the actual results to those that were predicted and use that information to create a full-scale wing design for a commercial aircraft.

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