It would need a bare surface. The actual paper, at
http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/117/3/10.10... , says:
> Metals are intrinsically hydrophilic; immediately after femtosecond laser surface structuring, they first become more hydrophilic, but the exposure to air turns the metals superhydrophobic. This transition is explained by chemical interaction between the surface and the ambient CO 2, resulting in an accumulation of carbon and its compounds on the laser-treated surface. [14,28] We believe that the laser-induced surface nanostructures also play an important role in enhancing this chemical interaction due to nanochemical effects.
so it would seem that the water needs to be in contact with this specific surface.
Neither the paper nor the press release at http://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/superhydrophobic-metals-... mentions how well it stands up to abrasion. However, the depth is only 75 μm, so I wouldn't take steel wool to it.
FWIW, "It currently takes an hour to pattern a 1 inch by 1 inch metal sample" so that airplane wing will take a while to pattern.
P.S. More discussion at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8921655 .
