Whereas conventional aircraft adjust wing shapes using discrete and deployable control surfaces such as flaps, ailerons, and rudders, morphing wing aircraft use an internal morphing mechanism, thereby possibly generating more substantial wing-shaped changes toward optimal shapes. In engineering, morphing technologies refer to sustainable technologies that enhance flight performance, including maneuverability and the flight envelope, by actively adjusting aircraft wing shapes that correspond to different flight modes. It is associated with providing systems with additional capabilities to adapt to external changes. In engineering, morphing is a discipline of smart structures or an either compliant or rigid body mechanism-based approach. The word ‘morph’ comes from the Greek word ‘metamorphosis’, as in ‘to change shape and form’-a biological development process in which forms change. In the case of NACA 8410, an average 60% improvement was expected. When NACA 6410 is adopted, a 17% improvement in flight range and endurance average was expected. Once the C L values of the fixed and morphing wing cases were matched up to two significant figures, the C D and C L / C D were analyzed for these matching cases to calculate the flight endurance, range, and improvement.

The fixed-wing cases had varying flap deflection angles, and the camber morphing wing cases had varying camber rates from 4% to 8%.

The wing structure was switched between a fixed wing and a camber morphing wing to generate conventional and morphing wing geometries. Identical geometrical and computational conditions were applied to an already-existing aircraft: the RQ-7a Shadow. Thus, this paper addresses the practical aspect of the benefits when adopting a camber morphing wing aircraft. However, the actual benefits of adopting morphing technologies in practical aspects such as aircraft operation, mission planning, and sustainability have not been addressed so far. When considering the performance of morphing aircraft, most works address aspects of the aerodynamical performance such as L and D as well as flight envelopes for flight dynamics and control perspectives. Both conventional and morphing wing aircraft have been well studied and estimated in all aspects of performance. Flight range, endurance, maneuverability, and agility are the key elements that determine an aircraft’s performance.

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