The Future of Aircraft Design Researchers at NASA are helping aircraft designers build better aircraft. They are studying things like how to make aircraft quieter, lighter, and stronger. Better aircraft designs will help protect the environment. They will use less fuel and make less noise. They will also make it easier for more people to travel faster and farther, without delays. Most aircraft today are made up of separate parts that are joined together. These parts include the wings, body and tail. Researchers at NASA Langley Research Center are testing new technologies that will help an aircraft change its shape as it flies. This means these parts will no longer be separate. Together, they will form one complete aircraft made from new materials that can change shape, or morph. A morphing aircraft will fly better because it can change the shape of its wings to suit the air forces around it. Birds use a similar method. They use different feathers to control the way they fly. They also have nerves in their wings that help them know certain things like which way the wind is blowing. Scientists are studying how to place sensors on aircraft so that they act like nerves. Just as we have nerves in order to feel things with our hands, birds have nerves in their wings. These nerves send signals to the bird's brain that then tell its muscles how hard to flap. The morphing aircraft will use the same idea. Sensors on aircraft wings will feel the wind and tell the aircraft's muscles the best way to fly. In this case, the muscles are small controls placed all over the aircraft that can move and change the shape of the aircraft. These controls are called actuators. Sensors, actuators, and tiny computers will make up a central nervous system on the aircraft. This system will tell the aircraft when to change the shape of its wings. That will help the aircraft avoid things like bumpy air, or turbulence. The aircraft's body and wings will be made of new, lighter and more bendable materials. All of th
