Aircraft

Boeing is testing the flaps of the 787 on a modified 777 model at the NASA-developed wind tunnel of the US National Transonic Facility (NTF).

Boeing is evaluating the high-lift system designs to be used on the 787, including the flaps and slats that are used to increase the lift performance of the wing, allowing the aircraft to take off and land safely and efficiently. The company has bought time at the NFT, located at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

To test the new high-lift concepts, Boeing developers designed new 787-style trailing edge flaps and fitted them to an existing 5.2% scale 777 semi-span model. The stainless steel model, which looks like half an airplane cut down the middle from nose to tail, is mounted onto the sidewall of the wind tunnel (pictured below).

Meanwhile the 747-8 is to undergo four major windtunnel test campaigns in the USA and at Qinetiq in the UK. The stretched, General Electric GEnx-powered aircraft’s aerodynamic noise characteristics are being evaluated in low-speed tests in the Qinetiq tunnel in Farnborough and work at Boeing’s transonic windtunnel in Seattle will test the final high-speed design. This is to run until mid-March, ahead of high Reynolds number tests at NASA Ames. Further tests will follow in Seattle before the configuration freeze.