- by Milton Keynes
- 07 24, 2024
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IN THE CUT-THROAT business of civil aviation, every little helps. So researchers at Airbus, Europe’s biggest aircraft manufacturer, have been experimenting with a wheeze which they hope might shave up to 10% off an airliner’s fuel consumption. This is to hitch a ride on the wake of the plane in front.It is a familiar idea. Evolution blundered across it millions of years ago, and it explains why skeins of geese, swans and so on adopt a V-shaped formation when flying in groups. Vortices of air shed from the tips of a bird’s wings represent wasted effort. But that effort can be captured as lift by another bird trailing at the correct distance and angle.
