Aircraft quite often seem to get designed as an assembly of separate components, wings an entity unto themselves, engines or motors something attached to the fuselage or wings, and not always seen as a set of matched components until final assembly. Quite often, different components are compromised from their optimal shape or structure because of the need to integrate them with other parts of the craft. One group of researchers is finding ways to even cause components to begin communicating among themselves. Some parts, such as engines or motors, are hung on the wing or fuselage as replacements for earlier design variants. The new powerplants may provide additional power, but they may also interfere with the overall performance and handling of the airplane. University of Illinois researchers led by Dr. Phillip Ansell, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering has explored this subset of aeronautics and come to the conclusion that wings and propulsion …
