Aeroplane With Foldable Wings? Airbus' Ambitious Plans For Its Next-Gen Aircraft

Airbus, the world's largest aeroplane manufacturer has unveiled plans for its new commercial aircraft that will be soaring in the sky next decade. The innovative design features a single-aisle aircraft having foldable wings, which the company is developing under its highly ambitious 'Wing of Tomorrow' programme.

Airbus said it was making progress towards designing the wing which has been inspired by albatross - a bird known for its incredible wingspans and long-distance flying abilities, according to a report in news.com.au. The company said it was also studying new composite materials which will make the aircraft lighter and stronger than current options.

The company claims that the foldable wings would give the aircraft a longer wingspan during flight which would increase lift and reduce drag, while still making it compatible with airport gates. In turn, the new aeroplane is expected to be 20-30 per cent more efficient than the current A320neo family and will integrate advanced automation.

“If you're on an aircraft flying as a passenger, the aircraft will come in to land on the runway and as it turns onto the taxiway, the wings will fold so that a section moves in out of the way so the aircraft can taxi into the terminal and passengers can offload,” said Sue Partridge, head of the Airbus ‘Wing of Tomorrow' program.

“The aircraft, while it's taxiing back out to the runway, will unfold those wings and they will of course will lock in place and the aircraft will take off.”

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Airbus is also developing an open-fan engine that operates at the same speed as the ducted fan and hydrogen-powered aircraft. Still, the latter is not expected to be ready for the next-generation single-aisle aircraft that will launch next decade.

"We need to make sure that these technologies come to maturity and that we can bet our design on them, and we are not there yet," said Bruno Fichefeux, head of future programmes at Airbus.

"Our target would be to introduce an aircraft in the second half of the next decade."

Notably, Airbus' rival, Boeing is also developing folding wingtips on the 777X wide-body aircraft for airport gate compatibility purposes. The aircraft is still undergoing flight testing after years of certification delays.

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