See me, hear me, touch me, feel me: aircraft navigation and guidance may give you a sense of where you are, but sensors give you a sense of who and how you are, and flexible, controllable skins let you adapt to the environment.(Special section: aerospace in the 21st century)(Antenna array)(Cover Story) From: EDN | Date: December 25, 2003| Author: Schweber, Bill | COPYRIGHT 2003 Reed Business Information. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

THE FIRST AIRPLANES had no skin, just wings covered with fabric. Soon, designers enclosed the fuselage, first to cut down on wind resistance and, eventually, to hold passengers in the now-familiar aluminum tube. But aircraft were still primarily flying tubes.

As aircraft became faster, more powerful, and more complex, advances in sensor and instrumentation technology improved, and designers adapted them to monitor vital aircraft parameters, such as engine performance and...