https://newatlas.com/aircraft/active-turbulence-cancellation/ * SUBSCRIBE AD-FREE * LOG IN * HOME * LIFESTYLE + Health & Wellbeing + Outdoors + Tiny Houses + Architecture + Around the Home + Good Thinking + Holiday Destinations + View all LIFESTYLE categories + Health & Wellbeing + Outdoors + Tiny Houses + Architecture + Around the Home + Good Thinking + Holiday Destinations + View all LIFESTYLE categories * SCIENCE + Energy + Medical + Space + Materials + Biology + Environment + Physics + View all SCIENCE categories + Energy + Medical + Space + Materials + Biology + Environment + Physics + View all SCIENCE categories * TECHNOLOGY + Photography + Military + Mobile Technology + Games + Drones + Home Entertainment + Deals + View all TECHNOLOGY categories + Photography + Military + Mobile Technology + Games + Drones + Home Entertainment + Deals + View all TECHNOLOGY categories * TRANSPORT + Automotive + Aircraft + Bicycles + Motorcycles + Marine + Urban Transport + View all TRANSPORT categories + Automotive + Aircraft + Bicycles + Motorcycles + Marine + Urban Transport + View all TRANSPORT categories (c) 2023 New Atlas New Atlas logo Menu * HOME * LIFESTYLE + Health & Wellbeing + Outdoors + Tiny Houses + Architecture + Around the Home + Good Thinking + Holiday Destinations + View all LIFESTYLE categories * SCIENCE + Energy + Medical + Space + Materials + Biology + Environment + Physics + View all SCIENCE categories * TECHNOLOGY + Photography + Military + Mobile Technology + Games + Drones + Home Entertainment + Deals + View all TECHNOLOGY categories * TRANSPORT + Automotive + Aircraft + Bicycles + Motorcycles + Marine + Urban Transport + View all TRANSPORT categories * SUBSCRIBE AD-FREE * LOG IN Show Search [ ]Search Query Submit Search Aircraft Active turbulence cancellation makes bumpy flights 80% smoother By Loz Blain December 11, 2023 * Facebook * Twitter * Flipboard * LinkedIn Inline image / # Active turbulence cancellation makes bumpy flights 80% smoother Five-hole pressure sensors mounted in front of each wing Five-hole pressure sensors mounted in front of each wing Turbulence Solutions View 5 Images 1/5 Pressure sensors in front of the wings give the system a fraction of a second to respond to turbulence Turbulence Solutions 2/5 The company has already done enough manned flight tests to say it'll have a system commercially available by next year Turbulence Solutions 3/5 The system greatly reduces those spikes in vertical acceleration we feel in our stomachs Turbulence Solutions 4/5 Five-hole pressure sensors mounted in front of each wing Turbulence Solutions 5/5 Unmanned test aircraft Turbulence Solutions [icon-mouse-sc] View gallery - 5 images Austrian company Turbulence Solutions claims it's already flight-testing a system that can detect and neutralize air turbulence, reducing the forces felt by passengers by up to 80% - and reducing fuel burn by up to 10%. It's set to launch in 2024. Nobody likes to fly through turbulence - which is tough luck, because climate change has already caused it to increase by as much as 55% on some popular routes, and it's projected to continue getting worse as temperatures rise, bringing wind speeds and thus wind shear along with them. Where it can be accurately predicted, airliners will often go out of their way to go around it, hoping to avoid a whole lot of passenger distress as well as showers of vomit. But in clear air, it's nigh-on impossible to spot turbulence until you're in the middle of it, guts in your throat and praying for a quick death. Enter Turbulence Solutions, which claims to have built and tested something that solves the problem, acting a little like an active noise cancellation system in a pair of headphones. Effectively, it detects turbulence just before it happens, and uses super-quick automated lift adjustment through the aircraft's control surfaces to generate forces in opposition to the turbulence. Unmanned test aircraft Turbulence Solutions To predict what's about to hit the wings, the system uses 5-hole differential air pressure probes, mounted as far forward as possible. On the unmanned testbed above, for example, the company placed a pair of lightweight rails on front of the aircraft, holding up a third rail with the pressure sensors held out nearly as far as the wing tips. On the manned test aircraft, the sensors were instead mounted directly to the wings, on long pole masts that placed them some 2.65 m (8.69 ft) forward of the leading edges. At cruise speed, that's enough to give the system a tenth of a second's worth of advance warning before turbulence hits - and according to a paper published by the CEAS Aeronautical Journal in 2021, the system was able to predict vertical accelerations greater than 30 m/sec/sec with an accuracy of nearly 62% on its very first test flight, and it's doubtless improved since then. Pressure sensors in front of the wings give the system a fraction of a second to respond to turbulence Turbulence Solutions Armed with this information, the flight control system now has a tenth of a second to generate a force-canceling response at each wing, by deftly actuating low-inertia lift surfaces. In this way, the system is able to iron out vertical accelerations, pitch and roll changes, and wing bending moments. The Turbulence Solutions team claims it currently cuts down the effects of turbulence in the cabin by around 80%. You can see the system going bonkers to smooth out a bumpy manned test flight in the video below. Turbulence Cancelling Intro In an interview with Interesting Engineering, a company representative said it also enables significant fuel savings of up to 10%, since aircraft no longer need to climb, dive, or route around turbulence. That's nothing to sniff at. The company says it'll have a system commercially available for light aircraft in 2024. It's looking into a version for eVTOL air taxis by 2026, and hoping to have a system relevant to commercial airliners by 2030. Godspeed, team, the world's airline passengers - not to mention cleaning crews - need you to succeed. Turbulence Solutions - Making flights turbulence-free Source: Turbulence Solutions via Interesting Engineering View gallery - 5 images Tags AircraftAerodynamics * Facebook * Twitter * Flipboard * LinkedIn 5 comments Loz Blain Loz Blain Loz has been one of our most versatile contributors since 2007, and has since proven himself as a photographer, videographer, presenter, producer and podcast engineer, as well as a senior features writer. Joining the team as a motorcycle specialist, he's covered just about everything for New Atlas, concentrating lately on eVTOLs, hydrogen, energy, aviation, audiovisual, weird stuff and things that go fast. Most Viewed * Hyundai's innovative new wheel/tire system features built-in, push-button snow chains Automotive Hyundai unveils car tires with built-in, push-button snow chains * A Ford F-150 Raptor with Tune M1 topper sure looks like a fun weekend Outdoors Top 12 pickup campers, toppers and all-out adventure RV trucks of 2023 * Scientists have identified an enzyme that plays a key role in developing insulin resistance, and may lead to new treatment options Medical Scientists discover new "cause" for diabetes, opening new treatments Load More 5 comments Sign in to post a comment. Please keep comments to less than 150 words. No abusive material or spam will be published. paul314 December 11, 2023 06:26 AM In theory, you could even use doppler radar/lidar of the right wavelengths to do remote sensing on air movements. But getting the mechanical version working first is probably much simpler. Vladimir "Vlawed" Premise December 11, 2023 12:39 PM I believe turbulence serves a vital instructive experience for pilots and am deeply hesitant of any attempt to mitigate it. Trylon December 11, 2023 04:03 PM It's about time. The B-1 bomber was designed with a structural mode control system (SMCS) back in the '70s that took the bumps out using a couple of small active control vanes under the cockpit. Considering how much faster computers have gotten since then, it shouldn't have taken this long. Dug December 12, 2023 06:15 AM We already use something like this in our radio control model airplanes. They are rate gyros, usually called stabilizers. They smooth outh the effects of the bumpy air on windy days. The difference here is that they have moved the sensors out in front of the aircraft, anticipating the disturbance, instead of just reacting to it. Brilliant idea! BlueOak December 12, 2023 08:50 AM Forget the improved comfort - if it scales up effectively, the 10% fuel savings would be the huge sales point. Saving comment... [ ] Post New Atlas logo GET OUR NEWSLETTER Over 220,000 people receive our email newsletter. Get your daily dose of extraordinary ideas! 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