Could “Flying Piano” revolutionise air cargo?

US start-up Aerolane is pioneering a revolutionary approach in air cargo transportation inspired by the natural phenomenon of airborne surfing observed in migrating geese.

Aerolane is on the hunt for the secret to airborne surfing, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

Geese have already mastered this skill, effortlessly surfing on the air currents created by their formation members ahead and around them as they fly in a v-formation.

At an airfield in Texas, Todd Graetz is aiming to leverage this concept to revolutionize the air cargo market.

Aerolane has been studying the techniques employed by migrating birds, utilizing modified planes towed into the air by another aircraft.

Smoke released from the leading plane helps cameras installed in the towed aircraft capture vortices in the air. These vortices can be exploited by a glider to remain airborne.

Their newest test aircraft, dubbed the “flying piano” due to its limited gliding capabilities, uses its twin engines at idle to generate electrical power while its propellers turn solely for aerodynamic effect during gliding.

Additional tests have involved monitoring the tension in the towing line, observing moments when the line slackens, indicating that the glider is effectively surfing on air currents generated by the leading aircraft.

Aerolane's strategy involves integrating all this data into a software program designed to steer an unmanned cargo plane through wakes and turbulence, maximizing the potential for long-distance gliding without fuel consumption.

These cargo planes, towed by a jet aircraft that also carries cargo, could autonomously land at their destination after being towed there.

The only fuel costs would be incurred by the engines of the towing aircraft. In essence, this approach operates similarly to a truck pulling a trailer, where air currents provide much of the propulsion. Todd Graetz refers to this as "a combination of gliding and surfing."

Airbus also explored this concept in 2021 by testing it with two A350 airliners flying 3km (1.9 miles) apart over the Atlantic. Although the aircraft were not physically connected by a tow line, the experiment demonstrated one aircraft benefiting from uplift generated by the lead A350's wake, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.