Aerodynamic Design and Performance Analysis of a Morphing Wing Racing Sailplane

A wing with a morphing forward section and conventional trailing edge flap is proposed to improve sailplane performance. Novel optimization and geometry parameterization methods produce airfoils with up to 20% higher lift and similar drag compared to conventional airfoils, allowing reduced wing area and increased wing loading without increasing minimum speed. Applied to an existing 18-meter sailplane, the morphing wing shows a 3.4% performance increase based on a new competition-based metric. Further gains are possible by redesigning the tailplane of the aircraft.