AlbatrossOne: Revolutionising Aircraft Wing Design

Inspired by the albatross seabird, Airbus engineers in Filton, UK have developed a remote-controlled aircraft demonstrator that has semi-aeroelastic hinged wing-tips. It is the first aircraft demonstrator to trial in-flight, freely flapping wing-tips that can react and flex to wind gusts, thereby significantly reducing load and drag for a lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft.

[@vervluukt]

Don't hate on Boeing, don't hate on Airbus. Appreciate the beauty of both.

[@dongoneseo3672]

I agree, too! They both make great airplanes. Boeing made the first widebody jet, the 747, and Airbus built the first twin-engine widebody, the A300. I think we shouldn't be biased.

[@vervluukt]

@@fish_birb Based? What do you mean?

[@jdm4589]

@@vervluukt I think he was trying to be smart and failed miserably

[@russianpapercraft7984]

dont hate on Boeing, dont hate on airbus... love Tupolev )

[@hunternelson3018]

But not the a380

[@grantmattb2662]

That is great until people start to make a bad reaction like "Wing is broken in the middle of a flight *[GONE WRONG]* "

[@soobinsbread590]

Weird sounds on my flight with an boeing 320! *[GONE WRONG, GONE SEXUAL, COPS CALLED]*

[@Kevedsa4esan]

*spoilers open* HOLE IN WING WHILE LANDING [GONE WRONG]

[@ram64man]

As great as the idea is once you scale to mass and gross full laden weight this craft may not handle in the same manor as simulations and averse weather/ high cross wind landing scenarios

[@UnicaLuce]

THERE'S A HOLE IN YOUR LEFT WING!

[@amirazry4166]

Damn..i can't imagine that in real flight just looking at the tips going up and down freely.

[@jonathandpg6115]

Just like how jet engines where scary and if you could see the propellers people didnt feel safe.

[@HekateMGO]

Wings already flex a crazy amount especially on new planes like the 787 & A350. And control surfaces are moving all the time making small corrections. It would be novel at first, and once you’ve seen it for an hour it would really not be any different.

[@zachburke8906]

Like the other guy said, aircraft wings flex quite a lot in flight already. Even in the lightest of turbulence you can see aircraft wings flex. It's something that everyone's so used to no one really notices it. In a real plane it also wouldnt flap around like that, in a real plane it might take 50-200 pounds to move wing tip several inches. The only time you'd see it flap anything like that would be in extreme turbulence or wind. At that point the wing would likely be locked into a specific position. Honestly, I dont think in a full size aircraft itll be that intresting to most people. It will likely be as intresting as watching the flaps come out.

[@liamemmanuelquiambao9316]

what is your favorite plane company

[@zakzaitz9423]

Boeing: makes a folding wingtip Airbus: hold my beer

[@djespo69]

Yeah but they crashed too easily. Plus the company using substandard technology for everything and can’t manage anything particularly decision making

[@halo3rat_709]

@@djespo69 true

[@AVIATIONEUROPE340]

​@djespo69 no your thinking of the 737max he means the 777x

[@AVIATIONEUROPE340]

​@djespo69 you're thinking of the 737max he means the 777x

[@calcoholic]

Being an American, in my opinion it would be natural to like Boeing more than Airbus but with the inconsistency and old thinking of Boeing, I would like to appreciate Airbus for its incredible thinking and progressing it’s technology as time progresses. Who knows perhaps Airbus is now my favourite and even yours!

[@LeDarksideLe]

Doggo No

[@gioaxe4538]

Yes.. My Doggo

[@medviation]

Boeing is cheating with their compensation for the two MAX crashes victim's family. So Boeing is not a company worth trusting anymore.

[@aegystierone8505]

Kind of unfair to claim Boeing for being "old thinking", Boeing's push to develop the 787 with carbon fibre composite is what forced Airbus to develop the A350. Both plane makers are fiercely competing with each other and would in no way be slacking when they see their rival improving....

[@calcoholic]

Aegys TierOne I agree it’s unfair but when you compare Airbus Ideology and Boeing’s ideology you can see a significant difference in their approach to thinking. Also, if you see, Boeing is only trying upgrade their cabin features but if you see Airbus, they are doing a complete redesign of how the aviation industry is of. So yes, you are correct but there’s a difference in their approaches which is causing Boeing to look a little bad when compared to Airbus.

[@Kenzy1987]

It would be amazing to see something like that go into production as most civil aviation aircraft designs has remained pretty similar for the couple of decades.

[@testi2025]

Ken Desouza There are some more advanced planes, but they are really expensive to buy, and sometimes to maintain. As a civil pilot, I’m more interested on the cost per experience, not fuel savings or some minor handling characteristics, nor some technical thing that needs to be checked every time you fly.

[@QpertsChannel]

Except the average person cant afford new cutting edge milion dolar aircraft. There is a reason why cesnas are so popular even today, they are dirt cheap

[@nateayi]

RAMYRC is quaking.

[@ami6272]

Do you mean staging another crash to boost his views?

[@dourrookierookie775]

@@ami6272so you'd expect RamyRC to not make mistakes in his flying? I thought he was human.

[@ami6272]

@@dourrookierookie775 My opinion is that he's crashing on purpose. It happens too often and it's always because of something he does.

[@derpyto3z]

@@dourrookierookie775 30% of plane crashed be like

[@nvstewart]

@@ami6272 Do you know how stupid that sounds? He spends 6 months building a plane only to 'intentionally' crash it. Don't be bloody stupid.

[@leonealcharlesbujawe8938]

People first time flying a plane like this be like: WING IS BROKEN

[@gregoryho9307]

We make sure to assign them an isle seat

[@adam632]

lol

[@derpyto3z]

In the safety video they'd have to be like In the event of a mass decompression, wear your oxygen mask The wing on this A360 is designed with a hinged wingtip that moves freely. Do not mistake this as a broken wing or you will be fined £100

[@aerialphoto]

my ears also do that when i ride my bike

[@whitemailprivilege2830]

Felix Mizioznikov LoL

[@dourrookierookie775]

Stupid comment. It still made my day

[@alphaprot2518]

I really enjoy seeing how bionic structures create structural components of tomorrow. Take the millions of years evolution needed to optimise a wing - and translate this into modern engineering. Good job, AIRBUS! And - I hope that we will see this on a "real airplane's" wing in the near future - and not as a cool innovation stuffed into a drawer and being forgotten.

[@tylerjordan1479]

That is just about the most amazing thing I have ever seen in regards to wingtip devices. What a concept to let the airplane naturally do what is best, so simple yet so ingenious! Hats off to the development team that figured this out!

[@fearlessfab]

Airbus, you never cease to amaze!

[@scanida5070]

This is an Aircraft manufacturer which builds high quality planes without cutting costs! This is a company which you can trust!

[@TrainsandRockets]

After all.... Nature's design is the best...

[@yushanyasindu9762]

Love your works Airbus. The only hope we have as a safe aircraft.

[@garretttinker5954]

aviator rblx no kidding

[@maurices1804]

Concord was not safe enough

[@garretttinker5954]

Yeah but it was (for now) a one of a kind SST, and without reason to fly such a plane there has been a lack of reason to develop one so I’m more worried about efficiency

[@messerschmittbolkow5606]

I waited for that video very long.

[@larch6509]

That looks amazing , can’t wait for the more advanced versions of this

[@johnapia2]

This is super cool although it's an RC for now... can't wait to see a mockup version of it

[@ZicajosProductions]

This is incredible. I’m surprised this isn’t an idea that was thought of sooner... seemingly intuitive yet so revolutionary! I’m excited to see where this goes.

[@ScottysAir]

Wow! I'm so impressive!! Beautiful work!!

[@Adrenaline_chaser]

Been 4+ years now, when will it be finally avaliable?? I'm soo eager to see a completely new version of the current a321. One that is completely redesigned from scratch: with composite fuselage, these new flexible wings and the Cfm RISE engines (and a more streamlined nose like that of the a350). Just how much more efficient would that plane be? 🤔🤔

[@yelectric1893]

Wow, this is genius how different organizations tackle nonrigid aeroelastic structures! Awesome job!!! Wow!!

[@melihkarlidag5424]

Boeing: Folding wingtips Airbus: Hold my hinge

[@ziauddinkhan5699]

Love Airbus

[@edchelledu2006]

Amazing to see how wing tips and the wings actually would like to shape the tips.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Can't this already be achieved with intelligent load sensing flight control surfaces, and with IMU interface with existing control system, to dump lift when under high load condition? Not sure what the whole wingtip flexing achieves exactly, that is superior to changing camber and thus AOA by using trailing edge reflex.. Perhaps my understanding is too limited. Could Airbus explain a bit more? Thanks!

[@nutzeeer]

Its better to have adaptation to the environment through physical properties, than through complex computer systems. Though birds use physics and manual control for even better abilities

[@Toxie_Motor]

Yeah, though the same thing... not really sure what's the benefit of this system.

[@kalas2320]

The lecture by the president of RAeS may help. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIiUiphqbbh1jdE

[@grantmattb2662]

Thats *AWESOME*

[@arrtistik]

I was wondering why no aircraft manufacturer had drawn inspiration from an albatross before... Kudos airbus.

[@concordef-btcs3772]

Great !

[@FrancescoSpace]

Amazing creation!!

[@avgeek578156]

Haha also concept, i guess we should expect to this on a340-300 testbed!

[@realism4183]

Makes me wanna go play with my RC jet

[@alep8645]

did someone saw the a320 be the mostly test aircraft

[@the10thleper]

Nice, Smoother ride and longevity for the airframe.

[@IntellectualHazard]

Ten years later :RyanAir planning to buy free-hinged Boeing 737s for extra Boing

[@re57k]

Why do I see you everywhere.

[@IntellectualHazard]

@@re57k I don't know..maybe you follow me everywhere I go

[@avtweet3269]

Nah, Ryanair buys 737 MAs, MAX aircraft without the Xtra legroom.

[@emilsp]

Nice one

[@Deady2012]

These are Airbus wingtips. Ryanair buy Boeing.

[@coolkrishnan]

looks promising. Try testing it in adverse conditions too like Severe turbulence, Wind Gust/sheer etc.

[@mjhancock6029]

Thanks Captain. I'm sure Airbus know that 😂

[@YuunaAndCuddles]

Nice concept. Now for the materials...

[@itechtalk03]

Interesting those moving wingtips

[@audiorhino4231]

I was wondering when wing design was going to move forward. Great job airbus 👍

[@KajanLakhan]

☺ 👏 really nice engineering. It would have never cross my mind in a million years to *use movable parts* for airstability compensation. 👏 ☺

[@yichenjiang4001]

The spirit of discovery .big thumbs up for you and expecting your innovation apply to use

[@abdulrahmanmalik4403]

Brilliant. More power to the Airbus team! Hopefully, they are able to demonstrate the worthiness of new design.

[@Selena-ee6ch]

I would have thought the tips flapping around like that would create more drag/airflow disturbances. And I'm sure they're on there nice and snug but they look like a gust would rip them right off lol

[@FENIXRC]

Very nice !!! ✈🛩👍

[@ajalacfc]

Same basic design with folding wingtips.We can't wait to see its implementation!!!

[@Mark-oj8wj]

Impressive. It would be nice to see full scale!

[@tigershark2328]

Isn't this going to add a moving part and more points of failure? Will the increased maintenance cost of these wingtips be less than the cost of fuel saved? Will this scare passengers too much? How will the hinge react to water and dust? Questions I'm assuming that have already been asked and are being worked on to make this a reality. Also, it's stuff like this that makes me want to work at airbus when I'm older. Keep up the inspiring work!

[@madwolf0966]

And so begins the race for the best foldable wing tip.

[@parimal7528]

Good work Airbus. Hope to see upgraded version of A320neo family soon with composite wings & preferably fuselage also with A220 sized windows.

[@maurosilva9370]

A upgrade of a320neo now?

[@ankanhalder8341]

Awesome

[@anavgeekspassion5727]

Revolutionary indeed

[@vervluukt]

Prepare for hate comments because of your username.

[@danielwhyatt3278]

This seems like a truly fascinating idea. Never thought they’d go down this path. Would be interesting to see it actually done on a full-sized aircraft. Not so sure though on whether a firm would actually want to take up the idea though.

[@stevochang]

Incredible! its like feathers!!! :D

[@shako_04]

I’m no professional but since it has a lot of wing flutter it would cause vibrating and shaking in the fuselage. They had this same problem with the 747-8.

[@garciaoneris]

Yeah, you're definitely not a professional... Check out how film cameras stabilizers work, they have to "vibrate" a lot to counter the movement of normal operation

[@Clockpie5436]

Oneris Rico I’m pretty sure vibrating a whole 100 ton aircraft is pretty difficult and making sure that you don’t get structural stress or that there isn’t inertia lag.

[@garciaoneris]

FiA Stewards planes today vibrate and they do a lot, they're engineer so you don't feel it that much, wings are a huge absorber. This is a clever idea to help even more with that issue

[@DeffectiveMirrors]

I’m sure they’d add dampeners to counter flutter

[@driverlibra8812]

When I'm an adult,I did like work or have a job in Airbus...That's a my miracle when I'm kid

[@yengsabio5315]

I hope to see such a wing on the future Airbus commercial plane!

[@campanerodejalostotitlan3698]

Awesome!

[@laurieellertson5034]

It would be interesting to see the full scale test results. I would think that high speed fluttering might be a concern considering the speeds at which these full scale aircraft travel.

[@vanderpawl]

VERY COOL

[@ipayman5217]

01:57 hmmm where else have i seen this color combination???

[@holetoanotheruniverse4690]

No Idea..

[@Bradman175]

Ted talks?

[@ipayman5217]

Po.. ..b

[@futuregodkingoftheuniverse8381]

Cant wait to fly on one!

[@rianaboshoff7206]

Wonderful idea to test a prototype!

[@jettdiff5788]

Boeing and airbus need to stop the beef between fans and collaborate to make a plane

[@jul1an763]

A "Concept" for AIRBUS A350NWO (New Wing Option)?

[@zargie9002]

amazing 🤩

[@mueffe1357]

Atleast if any of the hinges falls off, it won't affect the plane aerodynamic. Soon programmer will use this flapping of the winglets as a random number generator

[@N0T0R1OUS]

What about super high winds though? And when there's a really bad storm? What if the hinges invert on themselves? Just a few questions I had, you guys probably know more than I do about it ahahah but, nonetheless, stellar work :)

[@kirannarayanan1224]

Boeing737Max left the chat.

[@reegans7335]

What is the use of that?...I don't think that portion can generate a lift

[@PedroConejo1939]

As it said, increased fuel efficiency, gust alleviation. Winglets or sharklets, whatever you want to call them, have been nibbling at this for quite a number of years now. There's more to an efficient wing than just lift. You can google it if you want to learn more.

[@TheAmir259]

Isn't reducing drag the main goal?

[@pavelhospodar2938]

In fact, Albatross uses other feature to reduce aerodynamic drag: "Bell shaped lift distribution". This kind of load enables to create wing with lower induced drag than elliptical wing (the same lift and bending moment = weight of the wing). viz.: ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20160003578

[@AR86608]

Ooh nice! I like this! Nice work guys 👍😃

[@MrCTruck]

Nice

[@datitingammez]

Yes

[@KPDesignsintro]

How does it work?

[@yashashjreddy]

I knew When Boeing 777x was shown to world the Airbus comes with a similar concept but better

[@6z0]

yashash j reddy what? english

[@yashashjreddy]

@@6z0hi jafah I mean the concept of folding wings is done better by airbus when compared to boeing 777x

[@vexari_]

What if it snaps off mid flight? Would it make any catastrophic failures?

[@socially_mute7086]

Ech, it's a hinged wingtip. Unless it's connected to the hydraulic system, it shouldn't be a critical problem.

[@UnpleasantDog]

Wow! Awesome!

[@tomaskilian8489]

As much as I hope this will find a way to a normal use, I hope it's reliable and sturdy design that won't break apart even after unexpected events....

[@victorph1826]

The legend has it : the plane never land

[@DiecastAviation]

How much?

[@L_U-K_E]

UK being Revolutionary as always

[@turbofan450]

Will be interesting to see how this design, for an airliner, handles high-speed flutter.

[@marcgoodman4561]

I guess it is gusty at 600mph

[@maurosidoni3825]

Good guy

[@phorahaobijam7995]

Thought it will be flapping like real like those hard flapping by birds

[@user-bj1fs8ev8i]

Will these become full sized one day?

[@DSTEngines]

Looks very interesting :)

[@dayiwang4613]

How do you reduce induced drag if the wingtip is hinged? Is the wing design going to be complicated to design and support the wingtip?

[@yoshyoka]

Why not making the hinge a compliant mechanism? It would improve overall reliability and reduce maintenance and buffering.

[@JundaComputersGmbH]

Just do folding wingtips on the A380, extension from 79.8m to 92 meter wingspan, extra 12 meter wingspan gives A380 10% better fuel efficiency and when folded wingspan is 79.8 meters still fit under ICAO category F, that 10% better fuel burn will make Air France keep A380 or AF should buy A380neo

[@kp5602]

This seems like something useful to the military than to commercial aircrafts

[@ralphmichael6336]

What about a retractable wing tip which further extends the length of the wing?

[@maskedpotatoes]

But how does the wear and tear work in this?

[@SamwiseGamgy47]

So what does the hinged wing-tip do, exactly?

[@donkeynotsoswag5644]

I love the battle between who is better airbus or boeing but to me they are both amazing manufacturers. It’s the same thing with, which is better, xbox one or playstation 4

[@joho4604]

Not only does this help efficiency but it's gonna make nervous flyers freak the f*** out.

[@jin1bob]

Second is good idea

[@ryanm.191]

But won’t the lift produced by the articulating wing only life the wing and not provide lift to the actual wing and thus body, which would increase fuel burn through a reduced lifting area?

[@geekdiggy]

okay. the article on business insider made it sound like airbus made a plan where the wings flap. damn you BI.

[@Trytounus]

Inspired by nature