‘Shark Skin’ Coating for Airliners May Cut Fuel Use by 4% – Delta is Testing on its 767 Fleet

‘Shark Skin’ Coating for Airliners May Cut Fuel Use by 4% – Delta is Testing on its 767 Fleet

‘Shark Skin’ Coating for Airliners May Cut Fuel Use by 4% – Delta is Testing on its 767 Fleet MicroTau ‘shark skin’ applied to a US Air Force Lockheed Martin during testing (Released by Delta and Microtau) An Australian aviation startup has developed an adhesive film inspired by shark skin that reduces drag on aircraft due to its sandpaper-like texture. Sharks are covered in tiny dermal grooves, often called riblets, which help a shark swim faster using less energy. When such microscopic grooves are applied via adhesive film to the exterior of an aircraft it can reduce drag by “smoothing air flow”. MicroTau says that when its ‘Riblet Modification’ is applied to the wings, fuselage, and tail, the overall efficiency improvement is up to 4%. “Across the global aviation fleet, this means billions of dollars in fuel saved and millions of tons of CO2 emissions prevented,” says a company statement. Recently, Delta Air Lines signed an agreement with MicroTau to test the Riblet Modifications on Delt…