This Is the First Plane in History to Fly Without Wing Flaps

(Bloomberg) -- A drone developed with the backing of U.K. defense giant BAE Systems Plc has become the first plane since the dawn of aviation to be maneuvered without the aid of movable control surfaces on its wings or other parts of the aircraft’s body.

The Magma model is flown by blowing air from its engine at supersonic speeds through slots in the wings. The technology is lighter, more reliable and cheaper to operate than conventional control surfaces, such as wing flaps, rudders and ailerons, BAE says. It also makes the plane all but invisible on radar thanks to a reduced number of gaps and edges.

Built by researchers at Manchester University using titanium parts 3D-printed by BAE, the aircraft has made a series of flights from Llanbedr Airfield in north Wales, a specialist site for drone testing run by Snowdonia Aerospace LLP.

The Magma model also maneuvers using thrust vectoring, in which exhaust gases in the engine itself are deflected in different directions to aid control. The plane and its technology could inform the development of Britain’s Future Combat Air System project, which is being led by BAE and includes the Tempest fighter model unveiled last year.

(Corrects story published on May 2, starting with headline, to say movable control surfaces instead of flaps.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Jasper in London at cjasper@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Andrew Noël

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