That's why most jetliners made today come from the factory with winglets. However, the aerodynamic benefits outweigh the additional weight and drag. There is a caveat: Winglets also add weight - some 500 pounds each - and drag. "Weaker vortices mean less drag at the wingtips and lift is restored," NASA explains. Winglets produce "lift" as well, but because they are tilted upwards, that lift results in forward movement inside the vortex and reduces the strength of that vortex. ![]() Winglets themselves are mini-wings, not unlike a sail. According to NASA, "The effect of these vortices is increased drag and reduced lift that results in less flight efficiency and higher fuel costs." The wing shape generates lift by exerting downward pressure on the air mass it is traveling through, causing a pressure difference below the wing compared to above there is less pressure on the upper surface of the wing and more on the lower surface.Īn Avianca Airbus A321 and a Delta Boeing 737-900ER at Miami airport in 2016, sporting two different types of winglet (Photo by Alberto Riva/The Points Guy)įrom this pressure difference, the air below the wings rolls up and wraps around the top of the wing, causing a whirlwind named a wingtip vortex. Making sense of winglets starts with an understanding of the wing. The next phase in development and use of winglets on commercial aircraft came courtesy of Aviation Partners, a Seattle-based firm that developed the first blended winglet (described below) for a Gulfstream jet. Whitcomb showed that the winglets would improve cruising efficiency by 6-9% tests by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center using a military version of the Boeing 707 showed an increase in mileage of 6.5% for the same amount of fuel. ![]() Richard Whitcomb, an aerospace engineer at NASA Langley Research Center, tested winglets - vertical airfoils on the tips of wings - compared to longer wings in a wind tunnel. ![]() While the concept of winglets has been around since the early days of aviation, NASA researchers are credited with kickstarting the winglet craze. Passenger jets without winglets, in fact, are becoming increasingly rare. The tips of airplane wings are adorned with all manner of winglets, sometimes featuring a distinct curve, like the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787. The ad is on the upward sloping mini-wing on the tip of the wing, called a winglet. You may have noticed on a recent flight a small, not-so-subtle advertisement for, or Ryanair.
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