

Covering planes with artificial feathers could reduce drag - echair
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16923-fake-feathers-could-take-the-drag-out-of-flights.html

======
dpifke
This sounds similar to vortex generators, which are small strips of metal
attached to an airplane's wings to smooth the airflow:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_generator>

