Fello'fly

In the animal world, migrating geese have been benefiting from the flight technique of wake-energy retrieval—or surfing the air upwash of a leader bird—since time immemorial. And the benefits are obvious: free lift means staying aloft for longer distances with a lot less energy expenditure—pragmatic reasons that persuaded Airbus engineers to take a closer look at applying the same technique to aircraft to help airlines reduce fuel consumption.

At Airbus, this demonstrator project is called fello’fly. But while initial flight tests have yielded the prospect of 5-10% fuel savings per trip, many have wondered: how can two aircraft fly sufficiently close together to safely carry out a fello’fly operation?

Airbus

 

 

Comments

[Lydia]

Vinnie

I am constantly amazed on the variety of subjects you talk about

[vinnie Mirchandani]

Thank you! Better than politics:)