Experimental "Surfing" Formation Reduces Fuel Use, Cost Published May 23, 2013 By Holly Jordan Aerospace Systems WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- As part of the Surfing Aircraft Vortices for Energy ($AVE) project, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) performed test flights that demonstrated how modifications to C-17 Formation Flight System (FFS) software allow pilots to "surf" the vortex of a lead plane for long distances, thereby conserving energy. The demonstration is the first step toward reducing fuel consumption by several percent, potentially saving the Air Force millions of gallons of fuel each year. AFRL conducted the $AVE test flights with the 412 Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in conjunction with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Boeing, Air Mobility Command, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Over the course of the two-week tests, crews conducted flights during which two highly instrumented test C-17s, a lead aircraft and a trail aircraft, were flown with the trail aircraft following 4000 feet or more behind the lead. The flight tests also collected engine and aircraft structural life-cycle data, which confirmed previous tests showing that $AVE operations would not impact the life cycle of the airframe or the aircraft engines. All flights were completed successfully. Early indications from the tests showed a fuel consumption reduction of up to ten percent on the trail aircraft. In 2010, the Air Force spent approximately $6.7 billion on aviation fuel. A 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption would have obvious positive implications, potentially saving millions of dollars for the Air Force.