If you’ve ever wondered why more and more of the planes you fly have various kinds of turned up additions to the wingtips, the reasons are simple: Less fuel burned, and less CO2 emissions…and lowered operating cost.
The winglets work by reducing drag caused by vortices that form at the wingtips, caused by the difference in pressure between the upper and lower surfaces of the wings.
Aviation Partners Inc., one of the major suppliers of retrofit extensions for Boeing planes, calculated last week that its ‘Blended Winglet’ and ‘Split Scimitar Winglet’ designs, installed mostly on 737, 757 and 767 jets, have saved over 7 billion gallons of jet fuel and 74 million tons of carbon emissions. The company expects the savings to hit 10 billion gallons in the next two years.
Airbus planes also use winglets, designed by other companies. And both Boeing and Airbus are offering them as factory options on new planes.
I heard that these winglets reduce a plane’s fuel consumption by about 10%. If so, it reaffirms my awe at human ingenuity. Such a small change can have such a big impact. Win-win-win all the way around!