The little airplane is able to withstand rough conditions thanks to three aeroservoelastic trim tabs, which are located on the trailing edges of the wings and tail. When the plane is hit by wind gusts, the tabs perform rapid high-frequency shape changes, to counteract the effects of the wind. The technology is not unlike the shape-changing trailing edge flaps currently being developed to protect wind turbines from destructive gusts. Combined with several other features, such as a special aerofoil profile optimized for high lift at low speeds, the result is a remarkably steady aircraft.
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it shouldn't if I understand it right, the basic idea is that the trailing edge is where most of the turbulence is. by replacing it with a rubber strip it reduces the twisting forces on the wing keeping the leading edge at a better AOA.
simple but effective but can be made better with a little work.
@Alex
yeah I've read papers on that and you're most likely right that the one you worked on would be a better design. they even talk about doing that at the end link in the but seeing as there isn't sensors along the whole leading edge I don't think this verison is that complex.
still better then nohting right.
I have done some work about a year ago on adaptive wingtip devices and they can greatly reduce the wing loads in wind gusting as well as its main use to reduce induced drag, but the ones I worked with were all computer controlled multi surface. And probably alot more effort that a cleverly designed rubber strip :P
If it doesn't fight against (or excite instability in) your primary autopilot it could be really neat.
The reason this is better is simply because the wind does not affect the whole wing equally. Adaptive flaps takes stress off the wing keeping it from bending and giving it more lift and so making it more efficient (and quiit if you apply the idea to the blades). Now these rubber flaps naturally adapt while if you did this with a computer would take countless more servos connected to as many small flaps and the same amount of sensors connected to a very fast and powerful computer to be able to keep up with the constantly changing wind.
So if you look at it from this way you can see why this is better.
Now there are still normal flaps that steer the plane but these just make the plane fly better in ruff wind.
One nice thing about the ocean though, if you stay in the air, is that the wind is generally much more consistent than over land. You don't have the earth heating up and generating thermals, you don't have terrain and vegetation generating turbulent flow ... the wind out there is much more of a consistent vector. Usually anyway ... I've been in 35kt winds in the open ocean, but never a big raging storm.
This is totally off topic, but imagine a small workout room at the bow of the ship ... the portion of the ship that moves up and down the most when traveling through the waves. Now imagine trying to run on a tread mill ... for two and a half steps you are totally weightless, and then for two and a half steps you weigh 500 lbs ... and then entire room is enclosed with no windows so there's no horizon reference to help you out. Now do that for a few weeks and get really skilled at it. Now come in to port and try to walk straight on dry land. :-)
Because there are no servos?
Because of response bandwidth?
Because this is research project and they HAD to try something different?
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