By RYO SASAKI/ Staff Writer
March 5, 2025 at 07:00 JST
Work to apply riblet-shaped coating to an aircraft body (©JAXA/JAL/O-Well)
Japan Airlines Co. found unlikely inspiration in shark skin to make an ecological statement.
It said the textured “riblet” feature reduces air resistance, and in turn carbon emissions, when applied to paint used to coat aircraft bodies.
About 30 percent of the fuselage of a Boeing 787-9 that went into service on Jan. 18 was painted this way.
It is the world’s first aircraft with a riblet-shaped paint coating to operate on an international route, officials said.
Sharks have fine grooves in their skin that reduce water resistance, allowing them to swim faster.
The groove structure, called riblet system, has been replicated for competitive swimwear and ship hulls, among other things.
It was hoped to apply the riblet structure to aircraft fleets, but the endeavor faced many challenges.
However, O-Well Corp., an Osaka-based company that specializes in paint development, came up with a textured mold to form riblet shapes in paint.
Simulations by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), another participant in the test, showed that riblet coating reduces air resistance by 0.24 percent.
Operating this demonstration aircraft on the Narita-Frankfurt route for a year would cut fuel consumption by 119 tons and carbon dioxide emissions by 381 tons, equivalent to the annual CO2 absorption by around 27,000 cedar trees, officials said.
Other air carriers, including All Nippon Airways Co., have also introduced riblet technology or textured decals to coat their aircraft bodies.
Officials at JAXA and O-Well explained that textured paint weighs less and shows signs of being more durable.
JAXA will study the reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions during demonstration tests.
Officials said they plan to draw on the test results to determine whether the riblet coating can be applied to larger areas and more aircraft.
“We hope to help realize carbon neutrality in aviation,” an O-Well official told The Asahi Shimbun.
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