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Related: About this forumNASA tests nonstick aircraft wing coatings that let bug juice slide
Who knew that keeping bug guts off airplanes could be a mission for NASA?
It turns out that insect "residue" splattering on the wings of big aircraft as they take off is a real problem looking for a serious solution.
"They are really small," conceded Christopher Wohl, senior research materials engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton. "But the problem is that, as these residues accumulate on the wing, they can impact the airflow."
And anything that affects airflow adds to a plane's drag, decreasing efficiency and increasing fuel use and costs.
--- Snip ---
It turns out that insect "residue" splattering on the wings of big aircraft as they take off is a real problem looking for a serious solution.
"They are really small," conceded Christopher Wohl, senior research materials engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton. "But the problem is that, as these residues accumulate on the wing, they can impact the airflow."
And anything that affects airflow adds to a plane's drag, decreasing efficiency and increasing fuel use and costs.
--- Snip ---
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-bugs-planes-20150627-story.html
Interesting work on a problem I'd certainly never thought of before...
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NASA tests nonstick aircraft wing coatings that let bug juice slide (Original Post)
petronius
Jun 2015
OP
That's great! Now they just need a way to make it bounce up from the ground as well...
petronius
Jun 2015
#2
Warpy
(111,480 posts)1. Superhydrophobic paint is wonderful stuff.
Here's one take on it (SFW because it's in German with subtitles)
petronius
(26,614 posts)2. That's great! Now they just need a way to make it bounce up from the ground as well...
Pretty funny that German actually has a word (albeit perhaps a vulgar colloquialism) for people that pee in public: "Wildpinkler". A very adaptive language...
Capt.Rocky300
(1,005 posts)3. It's not just large aircraft......
light aircraft that cruise at lower altitudes can accumulate a lot more dead bugs than the big ones. Not only can they interrupt airflow (but not dangerously) but they look terrible and are a real pain to clean off.