If the application method is as rudimentary as sandblasting, it sounds rather simple to retrofit to existing aircraft. If it works as they state it does, it's a virtually free same-day fuel efficiency boost.

However, I did not see what the actual net improvement was. When they talk percentages, they are talking only about "in the transition zone". They say the coefficient improves throughout, but in theory, it could be almost irrelevant if the overall improvement throughout the profile is close to 0. It also sounds like a very difficult level of precise degradation to maintain for any period of time in real world conditions, since it would be easy to clog or abrade further.

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imoverclocked 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

… theoretically meets reality pretty quick in aviation. You’ll likely find a lot of red tape to modifying any particular aircraft until it has been tested or certified. Well, for certified aircraft anyway. Even in the experimental world you might find some (excuse the pun) resistance to sand blasting someone’s wing.

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zonkerdonker 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Based on the mechanism of flow attachment in the transition zone it seems like the overall airfoil profile would likely have to change to take full advantage of the reduced friction. I think its much more likely to see this technique played with somewhere like Formula 1, if it hasnt been already.

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russellbeattie 5 hours ago | parent [-]

> "...like Formula 1"

Or projectiles like bullets and missiles. A sniper bullet with nanoscale textured surface that's able to go x% farther due to reduced drag seems plausible.

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TomatoCo 4 hours ago | parent [-]

On a metal as soft as copper I imagine that texture'll last about 30 minutes after it's issued to the soldier.

	▲	mauvehaus 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Once the box magazine is loaded, it's not like the individual cartridges are being handled heavily. Deer season involves a lot of loading and unloading a rifle (for those of use without removable magazines who are also bad at finding deer), and the bullets don't come out of it appreciably worse for wear. And that's for lead-free soft annealed copper ammunition. If you aren't being aggressively careless with your ammunition, it's not getting a lot of friction and scratches.
	▲	consp 42 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Doesn't the barrel remove this texture completely with the spin groves? Seems more of an issue than rough handeling.

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smallerize 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What I've seen is a more structured texture applied with plastic films. https://www.lufthansa-technik.com/en/aeroshark One company claims up to 4% less fuel use. https://mako.aero/insights/delta-partners-with-mako-to-test-...

	▲	sgc 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		They allude to this alternative tech in the article, and I think it will stay the dominant approach because the far finer dimensions of the new tech talked about in the article, even if integrated into a film using glass beads as they also did, appears to be intrinsically much more susceptible to rapid functional degradation. It's about or less than the thickness of dirt / grime / bug goo. But tests will tell.

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xbmcuser 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Paint and finish on an airplane has to account for a lot more than aerodynamics. So you need to build it from the ground up as that coating could be the difference between the surviving daily temperature fluctuation for 10000 trip vs 1000 trips