- Sensors mounted on the wings detect small variations in air pressure along the plane’s body and modify the wings appropriately.
Everyone longs for a comfortable ride, irrespective of whatever mode of transport it may be. Take the case of air travel; turbulence that the aircraft undergoes could harm both the vehicle and the passenger. The reasons behind it are usually atmospheric pressure differences, jet streams, air around mountains, cold or warm weather fronts, or thunderstorms.
Several studies have found that turbulence is growing due to climate change, but one Austrian business claims to have developed a system to solve this issue to a greater extent. The Vienna-based firm intends to lessen the consequences of turbulence by monitoring, forecasting, and managing choppiness with a mix of sensors, lidar, and flight control software.
According to the firm, its Turbulence Cancelling system is “able to reduce turbulence loads felt by passengers by more than 80% making use of counteracting control surface deflections,” said its website.
Mimics a bird’s flight
The system consists of two-meter-long rods with sensors attached to a plane’s wings. The equipment detects small fluctuations in air pressure along different parts of the plane’s fuselage. It adjusts the wings appropriately — many ways a bird’s feathers stabilize it mid-air.
The data collected is fed through a “Turbulence Suppressing Program” that decides the aircraft’s control surfaces to counterbalance it within milliseconds.
“The air pressure gets measured differentially and by that, we can read the direction of the airflow, basically, and from the direction of the airflow, we can predict what direction the turbulence will be as well as the magnitude of the turbulence,” Turbulence Solutions project manager Yves Remmler told The Messenger.
The technology is also intended for mid-air flying rather than takeoff and landing. Remmler claims it can compensate for mild turbulence in the air by adding half a G force. According to the firm, flight tests with manned demonstrator aircraft have already confirmed the positive effects by helping to lower turbulence loads felt by passengers by more than 80 percent.
According to the business, the system’s continual adjustments are distinct from the pilot’s inputs, so they may be overridden at any moment and will not interfere with regular flying controls.
Cost of turbulence
According to new research, deadly clear-air turbulence is witnessing an increasing trend as the climate has changed. From 1979 to 2020, the total annual length of severe turbulence at a typical site over the North Atlantic, one of the world’s busiest air routes, rose by 55%.
To counter it, airlines must begin planning for higher turbulence, which costs the industry $150 to $500 million annually in the United States alone. The cost is attributed to increased flying time associated with navigating these turbulences by detours and lower speeds. Also, the wear and tear to aircraft while encountering these disturbances would require additional maintenance expenses.
Such technologies proposed by Turbulence Solutions might be the much-required action to counter this increasing phenomenon. However, it will take considerable time before this technology becomes accessible to commercial jets. “Right now, it’s just a nice add-on for light sport aircraft, but in the long term, we want to make it feel safer and more resilient so that you can actually try and fly through heavier turbulences without having to worry,” Remmler told The Messenger.
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