ALAN MURRAY/Standard-Examiner

Utah State University doctorate student Nick Alley, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, works on the Twisteron of Zephyr, a model RC plane being used to test the new device that will cut down on drag, saving fuel.

LOGAN -- With a precise twist of the wing flaps, Utah State University students made a model airplane that is less susceptible to drag and has better maneuverability, through a technology known as Twisteron.

For the past five years, Utah State mechanical engineering professor Warren F. Phillips has worked on an equation to reduce drag in airplanes, which can save millions of dollars in fuel costs, he said.

"I've been working on the concept of improved mathematical models for airplane wings," Phillips said.

After spending all night figuring out how to put his equation into practice, Phillips said he woke the next morning with a clear idea.

Phillips and his seven-member team of Utah State students implemented the equation, which became Twisteron. The system slightly flexes wing-length airplane flaps, instead of having flaps that rigidly move up and down at the end of a wing. The amount of twist is determined by altitude, weight and speed the airplane is traveling.

The blue, radio-controlled model plane with a 10-foot-wide wingspan won first place in design at the 2003 National Design, Build, Fly competition in Maryland, held in April of that year.

Phillips said he enjoyed seeing Twisteron technology work, but he is most proud of his equation.

"It's kind of exciting for me," Phillips said, "but it's the mathematics that really excites me. Unless you know how to twist them, Twisterons don't do anything."

The concept of twisting the wings is not new. The Wright brothers made their first flight by twisting the wings of their plane in opposite directions to turn.

Testing with the model and with computer simulations has shown a 20 percent decrease in drag during steep turns.

Some tests show a 2 percent to 7 percent fuel savings.

Phillips said the airline industry can save millions of dollars in fuel by using Twisteron.

Utah State collected information that said in 2004 U.S. civil aviation aircraft are expected to consume more than 24 billion gallons of jet fuel.

Utah State Office of Technology Management and Commercialization Vice President Steven J. Kubisen said he sees possible interest by the airline industry.

"If you translate that into potential fuel savings," Kubisen said, "it could be hundreds of millions, even a billion dollars."

Utah State has applied for a patent for the invention, which can be used by the airline industry as well as private, military and transport airplanes.

Utah State mechanical engineering doctoral student Nick Alley said there are various factors that will decide if plane manufacturers will implement Twisteron.

Alley said airplane companies such as Airbus and Boeing are in competition for customers.

"They're looking for anything they can to make the planes more efficient to add value to their planes," Alley said.

However, Alley said airplane manufacturers tend to stick with proven technology.

Kubisen said Twisteron will also require Federal Aviation Administration testing.

"You probably won't see this on your Southwest plane for five to seven years," Kubisen said. "Safety is the name of the game when you have that number of people up there."

In the meantime, the technology could start appearing in unmanned planes such as the Predator, which gathers intelligence in Afghanistan and Iraq, Alley said.

Planes are not the only vehicles that can benefit from Twisteron technology.

Kubisen said he could see the technology used on boat keels and in racing -- anything that produces lift.

"We need to get this on the America's Cup, so we can get the America's Cup back," Kubisen said.