Pilots may use flexible flaps to control their planes in the future if research pans out

DRYDEN RESEARCH CENTER, California - Imagine airplane flaps that flex instead of simply raise and lower. Could they control aircraft better? NASA is about to do an experiment to find out.

FlexSys Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., has delivered two "revolutionary" flaps to NASA for the experiment, the space agency says. They will be attached to NASA's Gulfstream G-III Aerodynamics Research Test Bed aircraft after a process to make sure they don't damage the plane's systems.

The 19-foot long test flaps - the same length as the G-III's current flaps - are "continuous bendable surfaces" made of advanced materials, NASA says. Will they work? Do a bird's wings flex? Stay tuned to see how it all works out.

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