Slimmer wings, greener flying – Hungarian researchers are working on the development of the aircraft of the future

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 09. 18. 09:38

🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Nyelv: Sebesség: 1.05×

A few decades ago, flying was a rare luxury, but today it is a natural part of many of our lives. Summer vacation, a few days of sightseeing, a business trip: any point in the world can be reached in a few hours. Similarly, air parcel delivery has become a part of our everyday lives, from the global network of online orders to urgent industrial shipments. However, the growing air traffic is not only burdening airports, but also our planet. That is why the key question has become how we can make aviation greener, more economical and safer at the same time – even in the harshest weather. Hungarian researchers are working on this together with the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers.

The experts of the HUN-REN SZTAKI Systems and Control Theory Research Laboratory (SZTAKI SCL) are working with Airbus, among others, to make air cargo and passenger transport more efficient. In addition to economic benefits, aircraft with lower fuel consumption and lower emissions also reduce the ecological footprint of aviation, and thanks to developments, they also fly safer in turbulent weather.

Without breaking with the aircraft design principles that are widespread today, fuel savings of about 10–15 percent have been achieved in recent times simply by optimizing the closer cooperation of systems. One of the basic ways to do this is to increase the structural efficiency of aircraft and improve the aerodynamic properties of the aircraft. This means that its air resistance should be as low as possible, while its wings provide the most lift possible with the least fuel consumption.

Airbus’ research department is already working on technologies for aircraft that will be ready for series production by 2035. One of the goals of the developments is to create wings that are as aerodynamically efficient as possible and have great slenderness. However, the span cannot be increased just like that: if the wing is too thick, the air resistance increases and even the flight stability may decrease. At the same time, long and thin wings can significantly improve the aerodynamic properties of the aircraft – and SZTAKI SCL research is helping to solve the technological challenges related to this.

Experiments are also being conducted with aircraft with so-called bare-wing designs. Their spread could result in an additional 20–25% fuel savings, but they also raise a number of new questions: many airports would only be able to accommodate such aircraft with significant modifications, and comfortable seating for passengers would also be a problem. In addition, studies show that many people are afraid of unfamiliar, non-traditional shapes. Passenger trust is a key issue: it would be a serious risk for manufacturers and airlines to put such high-value aircraft into service that some passengers would simply be afraid to take off on.