Fluid mechanics was my jam before my software engineer days! Unfortunately, I think the FAA strict regulations will prevent any of the good innovations. But you can do this thing called flow control where you can control where the boundary layer detaches on the wing. You can achieve different L/D ratios and save a TON of fuel cost. NASA supposedly was going to try it on the X-37B but civilians never knew if they did or not.
Thank you, why wasn't this article posted as the submission website? Anyways if true this could have big ramifications for aviation. I suspect most of those could result in fuel savings.
Your browser can probably provide a reasonable translation on demand from a nearby service. FF on Linux does, so surely whatever you are rocking can manage it too.
Yes I am aware that it is the year 2026 but I don't use Firefox and there is no way to translate it. Last time I checked HN is still an English language public square, while there's instances of different languages used its more often for the comments.
I don't like to see DVs for the sake of it so I've UVd your comment because I like to engage and not suppress.
You don't need to use FF - I just gave an example. There are loads of translation sites around and if you are really desperate - chatgpt 8)
Now as to language and HN: Yes a lot of us on HN speak and write english natively. There are several varieties of english. I happen to hale from England but I don't claim to speak the real english (whatever that is). For many people here, english is a second or third tongue. They all have my utmost respect (and most have accents that gives english an extra dimension too)
I'm a fan of inclusivity and it turns out that I don't have to dig out my japanese to english dictionary to deal with this article.
What pisses me off is when a link is given to a paywalled site on HN.
Even then Japanese-English translations are hardly accurate and don't often translate fluently. I'm sorry I refuse to use a browser with automatic AI translation.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48260117
They talk about reducing skin friction drag but due to the translation I'm not sure if that's what this article is referring to as well.
- The 43% is peak drag reduction in the transition zone only, the bit between laminar and turbulent flow, not across all flight conditions.
- Aerodynamic drag is one part of fuel burn, not a 1:1 proxy. There's also engine efficiency, etc.
- This is skin friction drag on a wind tunnel model, not a full aircraft which has extra bits like windscreen wipers.
I still think it's exciting but I reckon fuel savings would amount to a few percent (aeronautical engineers, please correct me if I'm wrong).
Your browser can probably provide a reasonable translation on demand from a nearby service. FF on Linux does, so surely whatever you are rocking can manage it too.
There are lots more options.
You don't need to use FF - I just gave an example. There are loads of translation sites around and if you are really desperate - chatgpt 8)
Now as to language and HN: Yes a lot of us on HN speak and write english natively. There are several varieties of english. I happen to hale from England but I don't claim to speak the real english (whatever that is). For many people here, english is a second or third tongue. They all have my utmost respect (and most have accents that gives english an extra dimension too)
I'm a fan of inclusivity and it turns out that I don't have to dig out my japanese to english dictionary to deal with this article.
What pisses me off is when a link is given to a paywalled site on HN.
You are the minority demanding to be catered to.
This community is also undoubtedly composed of the kind of problem solver that can overcome this kind of hurdle.