Ultra Performance Wing

The Ultra Performance Wing project will validate, down select, mature and demonstrate key technologies and provide the architectural integration of “ultra-performance wing” concepts for targeted ultra-efficient Short/Medium Range aircraft (SMR), i.e. 150-250 PAX and 1000-2000nm range.

The project directly addresses the Clean Aviation objectives: fuel burn reduction of minimum 30% aircraft level, compared to the state-of-the-art reference Aircraft A321neo. UP Wing will consider 2 aircraft configurations, covering both exploitation horizons outlined in Clean Aviation impact objectives: a high aspect ratio SAF wing with turbofan engine targeting 10-13% and a dry high aspect ratio wing with open rotor up to 17% energy efficiency efficiency increase on wing level.

UP Wing will develop the integrated high aspect ratio SAF wing up to TRL4 until the end of this project and will provide concepts studies for several dry wing configurations.

The interdisciplinary European consortium, consisting of airframe integrators, industry, research establishments and academia will develop the related enabling technologies covering all relevant engineering disciplines. Performance monitoring considering Impact Monitoring in close collaboration with the architecture project will be done. For all technologies, the project objectives are broken down to individual targets to be monitored. Ground, wind tunnel and virtual testing are foreseen. Thanks to multidisciplinary optimisation the overall wing design for Configuration 1 will ensure the proper integration of all technologies up to TRL4. These results will be picked up in a second Clean Aviation phase achieving TRL6 until the end of the Clean Aviation programme.

These Clean Aviation objectives are well aligned to the development plans of future aircrafts entering into service in 2035 (SAF SMR & H2 Regional), with 75% market penetration until 2050. Academia involved will ensure proper scientific exploitations via lectures, conference contributions, journal proceedings whereas the industrial partners will mature specific technology bricks to TRL4 and higher.