‘Blown air’ trials herald aviation design revolution

Engineers from BAE Systems in Lancashire have played a major role in a technological breakthrough set to revolutionise the future of aviation design.

For the first time in the industry’s history, an aircraft has been manoeuvred in flight using supersonically blown air, removing the need for complex movable flight control surfaces. 

In a series of ground-breaking trials, the MAGMA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrated two innovative flow control technologies.

MAGMA, designed and developed by researchers at The University of Manchester in collaboration with engineers from BAE Systems, successfully trialled the two ‘flap-free’ technologies earlier this month at the Llanbedr Airfield.