How Business Aircraft Technology Is Mitigating Air Turbulence

At 42,000 feet, the air is thinner and smoother – cruising is just that: cruising.
Up on that stratospheric superhighway is where many business jets spend most of their time. Their passengers remain safe, in large part, from the turbulence affecting many aircraft below.

But outside of the ultra-long-range jets and midsize models, among the light jets and turboprops – aircraft often with altitude ceilings of 35,000 feet or below – turbulence can cause passenger discomfort at best and at worst, structural damage or loss of control.

Pilots report about 65,000 incidents of clear air turbulence each year, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Compensation payouts from these events, alongside fuel inefficiencies, rerouting, delays and maintenance, amount to almost $2.6 billion annually across commercial aviation, according to the London School of Economics.

Fortunately, business aviation – which has a long track record as an incubator for new and effective aircraft technology – is well positioned as a possible platform for emerging solutions.

‘Active Turbulence-Canceling Technology’

An outfit called Turbulence Solutions is executing on a vision to make flights “turbulence free.” The Vienna, Austria-based company, which began as a university project, has grown to a 20-person team, according to founder, CEO and Head of Technology and Research, András Gálffy.

For the past seven years, Turbulence Solutions has been developing what Gálffy calls “active turbulence-canceling technology,” which research has shown can reduce turbulence effects by more than 80%.

The patented system uses counteracting control surface deflections that dynamically adjust wing shape – like a bird – instead of rotating the whole aircraft. Proven in a series of crewed tests using light, fixed-wing aircraft, the system is being developed step-by-step for light aircraft, advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft and commercial airliners.

“Our system uses retrofittable flaplets – like a winglet on a wing, we have a flaplet on a flap. It is easily retrofittable and easy to certify because it offers limited deflection,” said Gálffy.

The flaplets respond to data from sensors mounted on retractable booms or on the aircraft’s nose. The boom provides the anticipation time needed to calculate and actuate deflection. The flaplets move between three and five times per second to reduce turbulence effects, using a principle similar to noise-canceling technology, which overlays an opposite signal to neutralize the original.

Although testing and certification for Part 25 and AAM aircraft remain in the pipeline, the system is now available on the Slovakia-based Shark.Aero’s single-engine, low-wing ultralight Shark 600.

Gálffy said entering the larger light aircraft and business aviation markets is a primary focus for Turbulence Solutions. He recognizes that for decades, the business aviation sector has been a proving ground for successful technologies that have gone on to help the entire industry.

“Business aviation is the opener to the big markets. Commercial needs the innovation risk to be taken before it can move; business aviation is the perfect market to do that,” he explained. “Ideally, working with an OEM as we have done with Shark would be best, but we could work out a retrofit solution too. Currently, we are looking to partner with Part 23 OEMs.”

Gálffy added that a 2030 timeframe for a certified solution on a commercial aircraft (size undisclosed) remains a realistic target.

Fighting Turbulence Through Business Aircraft Winglets

Another anti-turbulence tool comes out of Idaho. There, Tamarack Aerospace has engineered wing-based solutions designed to help mitigate the effects of turbulence on business aircraft.

The company began developing its patented Active Winglet and Active Load Alleviation System (ATLAS) in 2010. After six years of design, testing and certification work, the technology entered the market and is now flying on more than 200 business aircraft worldwide.

“Traditional winglets improve efficiency but add structural stress to the wings, requiring heavy reinforcements and offering limited real-world gains,” said Jacob Klinginsmith, president of Tamarack Aerospace.

Tamarack saw an opportunity to deliver greater fuel efficiency without adding structural weight, while also improving ride quality and safety by actively mitigating wing loads in turbulence, Klinginsmith said.

The first certification came in 2016, with FAA and EASA approvals for the Cessna Citation 525, 525A and 525B. Data shows ATLAS technology can make flights up to 25% smoother.

National Weather Service Offers Key Data Tools

Despite this progress, the effectiveness of turbulence-mitigation hardware remains limited. The industry’s primary strategy to avoid the threat is by leveraging data from advanced, software-backed flight planning tools.

Many of these options are offered by the National Weather Service (NWS). Located in Kansas City, MO, the NWS Aviation Weather Center (AWC) produces warnings and advisories for aviation hazards in the form of SIGMETs and graphical AIRMETs. SIGMETs are issued for severe turbulence, among other weather events.

A cadre of meteorologists at the FAA Command Center near Washington, DC, also provides turbulence forecast information directly to FAA planners.

The NWS, in partnership with the FAA, developed Graphical Turbulence Guidance, a turbulence model that offers graphical guidance to help identify hazardous conditions.

“Aviation meteorologists also use different weather parameters and weather model guidance to look at things like wind speed and wind direction changes to identify potential conditions,” said an NWS spokesperson. “AWC utilizes specialized aviation weather discipline, with a broad depth of forecaster experience that goes into determining forecasts, advisories and warnings.”

Nonetheless, there are no guarantees. “It can still be tricky to pinpoint exact locations and conditions,” the spokesperson warned. “Always keep your seat belt fastened when seated on an airplane to stay safe.”