Project Doubleflap Laminar Flow Airfoil

(DFL)

Our patented airfoil technology increases the useable range of lift coefficients with low-drag laminar flow significantly compared to airfoils with a camber changing flap.

The new airfoil technology comprises of a leading edge flap in combination with a trailing edge flap. It has a sophisticated and patented geometry. If the leading edge flap is in the high lift position, the top side of the profile, which is sensitive to the flow, is kink-free and continuous. In the low lift position the bottom side is flow-critical and then forms a kink-free and steady surface. In combination with a proper sealing technique, this property makes it possible to keep the flow on the profile laminar. The wider usable range of lift coefficients makes it possible to reduce the wing area and reduce profile drag while maintaining the same maximum lift. If you are interested in the technology feel free to contact us

Applications:

Where the application demands extremely low drag at both high lift conditions and low lift conditions, the DLF airfoil concept exceeds every existing airfoil technology. Translated to aircraft, this means high efficiency both at low speeds and high speeds.
Interesting areas of application are:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): Providing UAVs with the ability to perform more efficiently at a range of speeds, which can be especially useful for long-duration flights and varying mission profiles such as cruise and loiter missions.
Drone Delivery Systems: Enabling drones to carry a wider range of payloads due to improved lift capabilities, critical for the future of autonomous delivery services.
Airborne Wind Energy Systems: Enhancing the efficiency of flying wind turbines which operate by harnessing wind energy through airfoil motion.
High-Performance Sports Aircraft: Enhancing maneuverability and speed capabilities for aircraft used in competitive flying and acrobatics. Especially racing aircraft would benefit dramatically when equipped with a DLF airfoil
Gliders and Sailplanes: Extending the range and improving the performance of engineless flight vehicles, which rely heavily on the efficiency of their wings.
Model aircraft: Particularly F5B, F3D and F5D/F3E planes would profit drastically from the DLF technology, where long high speed straights alternate with tight high lift corners.
Sailing Yachts: Racing yachts and high-performance sailboats that use hydrofoils could benefit from the improved lift characteristics, enabling them to “fly” above the water at lower wind speeds and enhancing the envelope towards higher top speeds.
Foilboards: Equipped with a DLF hydrofoil, wings could get easier out of the water and achieve higher speeds.

Design:

We design DLF airfoils and wings specifically tailored to your needs with our numerical optimization software package. This enables us to design your wing rapidly

Development of certification strategy
Creation of certification documents
Communication with authorities

Performance:

Compared to a conventional flapped airfoil for sailplane applications, our DLF airfoil achieves 20% more lift. This enables us to reduce the wing area also by 20% while maintaining the same maximum lift. In turn, profile drag decreases significantly. We built a wind tunnel section of a DLF airfoil for sailplane applications. It was tested on our mobile wind tunnel and achieved equal drag coefficients as a flapped airfoil in low lift configuration and 20% more maximum lift.

DLF sailplane project:

We currently design a sailplane based on the DLF technology. More updates coming on this page soon. Stay tuned!

Project Doubleflap Laminar Flow Airfoil

Applications:

Design:

Performance:

DLF sailplane project:

Contact us