Will be interesting to see how and where this goes. You can take a bad airfoil section and make it better with vortex generators, but that doesn't mean this research will help already good designs.

Golf balls get better if dimpled, but that only works on spheres and cylinders, not wings, fuselages and tails.

Anyone else remember a previous iteration on a "sharkskin" for increasing laminar flow from back in the 80s? Even pictures in SOARING!

Steve Leonard