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Tiny vanes glued to planes promise big savings for US Air Force
A surprisingly simple tweak is making a venerable military transport aircraft more efficient. Literally gluing a few microvanes to the rear fuselage of a C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane can result in fuel savings in the tens of millions of dollars.
Literally gluing a few microvanes to the rear fuselage of a C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane can result in fuel savings in the tens of millions of dollars. Set in a series of steps on the rear of the fuselage, a dozen of these microvanes catch the airflow over the aircraft and consolidate them to produce a 1% reduction in drag. A retired field archaeologist and university lecturer, he has a background in the history of science, technology, and medicine with a particular emphasis on aerospace, military, and cybernetic subjects.
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