The Airbus fello’fly campaign, inspired by the flying formations commonly seen in migratory birds (and, let’s face it, racecar drivers drafting at high speed), is a demonstration in computational flight control and mass coordination. As imagined by Airbus engineers, the fello’fly program will see two planes fly one behind the other, with the trailing plane utilizing the updraft created by the leading plane as its cuts through our atmospheric medium.
According to Airbus, “Through fello’fly, a follower aircraft will retrieve the energy lost by the wake of a leader aircraft, by flying in the smooth updraft of air it creates. This provides lift to the follower aircraft allowing it to decrease engine thrust and therefore reduce fuel consumption in the range of 5-10% per trip.”
As part of their 2020 test regime, Airbus engineers will determine whether pilot assist features aboard their A350 commercial jets are capable of maintaining safe and effective distances and steady altitudes when paired in close proximity.
In addition to onboard flight controls, Airbus will also be working with air traffic controllers to coordinate the in-air action of two or more craft flying in tight formation as well as their near landing procedures.
While formations like these may be common in the avian and military world, the commercial air travel industry has yet to test such a measure. However, given the premium being placed on reducing the environmental impact of air travel, Airbus plans to begin their tests of the fello’fly plan post-haste with the hopes of fielding coupled flights as soon as possible.
Whether the fello’fly program works or not, Airbus’ push for coordinated flying schemes appears to be a subtle acknowledgement that the path forward in aviation is for greater automation and a relinquishing of human flight control. As has been demonstrated with swarms of drones, coordinating craft controlled by a single flight program can yield spectacularly coordinated and controlled results.