Max winglet??????

[SIG600]

I am not an aerodynamics guru, but I had a conversation with one recently. He said these extreme winglets were really a waste of money due to the additional weight and strengthening required in the wing to support the winglet. He stated that it takes very long segments (7 plus hours) to realize much fuel savings from them. The real reason airlines (and leasing companies) keep having them installed is the accountants believe the airplanes will keep their value longer and they will be easier to re-sell or re-lease them later in their life cycle. Thoughts?

edit - I should say he was a self proclaimed aerodynamics expert.

Tell him not to quit his day job, or just be straight forward and tell him he's a moron.

 

[LJ45]

Add a few more protruding airfoils and soon it will be the B-737-800-1900D!

Good one :laugh:

 

[johnnyb]

In another life I was in purchasing at an airline. We were looking at a winglet retrofit so we tasked the mod guys to prove the value of their product - they could only produce a 50/50 fleetwide upgrade.

Just sayin people actually do crunch the numbers.

 

[Jetjockey]

Silly Engineers with all their fancy math and calculations....should have just asked some guy at a bar.