A man places a prototype cork wing on top of the currently-used plastic wing in DynAero's light plane to verify measurements, in a hangar at the Evora airfield September 20, 2009. Making cork fly is easy, just pop a bottle of bubbly. But imagine a plane with wings largely made of pressed cork soaring through the skies. From aircraft in the sky to the microscopic depths of the cork oak genome, researchers in Portugal are working to ensure a high-flying future for cork -- light, natural fire retardant -- even if demand for traditional bottle stoppers keeps waning. Picture taken on September 20, 2009. To match Reuters Life! PORTUGAL-CORK/ REUTERS/Nacho Doce/Files (PORTUGAL - Tags: TRANSPORT ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY)