From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wing warping was an early system for controlling the roll of an aeroplane while flying. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite directions. In many respects, this approach is similar to that used to trim the performance of a paper aeroplane by curling the paper at the back of its wings.

In practice, wing warping is difficult to control and potentially dangerous. Around 1915, wing warping began to be superseded by ailerons in practical aircraft designs.

Wing warping was a common feature of early aeroplanes, including:

• The Wright Flyer (1903)
• The Blériot XI (1909) following modifications introduced by Raymond Saulnier
• The Number 21 (1901) by Gustave Whitehead
• The Rumpler Taube (1910), the first mass produced military plane in Germany
• The Morane-Saulnier Type N (1915), a WW1 French scout plane
• The Fokker Eindecker (1915), one of the first German fighter planes

Many of the reproduction planes built for the film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines also used wing warping.

Wing morphing is a modern extension of wing warping in which the aerodynamic shape of the wing is modified under computer control. The technique, it is hoped, will give improved control at flying speeds near the speed of sound where traditional control surfaces are less effective. Wing warping and wing morphing are also currently used to get extra control over an aircraft during difficult times such as in a storm. Research into this field is mainly conducted by NASA. CERN in Europe is also trying some of its finds on miniaturised models of several aircraft to better their aerodynamics, response, and control in flight or near the speed of sound. Airbus is also rumoured to be trying some of this technology on its test planes.

• Aileron
• Elevon - a precursor of the elevator used on Bleriot's earliest planes and more recently on flying wing designs.

• NASA - interactive diagram of wing warping used on the Wright Flyer
• Centennial of flight - illustration of Wilbur Wright invention of wing warping using a cardboard box
• Aerospaceweb - Origins of Control Surfaces
• PBS - What's Wing Warping?