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The future of flight: plasma aircraft wings
Electrically charged field replaces mechanical flap
The future of flight: plasma aircraft wings | News & Events | Manchester Metropolitan University

Tests show that plasma could be adopted to replace the actuator flaps on aeroplanes that help them to climb, descend and alter speed.
Wings generate lift as air moves over the top of the surface of the aerofoil, creating a vacuum that pulls the aeroplane up. A fully operated plasma system would create cheaper, lighter and greener aeroplanes by replacing the flaps and slats’ role on a wing.
When the plasma is switched on, an electrical current passes through electrodes to generate an ionised field along the wing, known as the single dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuator, without any moving parts.