SINGING wings could reduce the number of fatal crashes of small aircraft. The idea is to prevent the plane stalling by applying a piezoelectric film to the wings to help maintain a smooth airflow.
Stalls account for around one-quarter of fatalities involving small planes, and are caused by a loss of lift when an aircraft turns too tightly or flies too slowly. “The air can no longer remain attached to the wing and it tends to break off in large sheets,” says Ian Salmon, an engineer with Qantas Airways in Sydney, Australia, who conducted the research while at the University…
