Tail Gunner Joe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2005
- Posts
- 203
'Winglet' Versus 'Sharklet'
source: http://online.wsj.com/article
Winglets have gotten a major boost from Southwest Airlines Co., which has had them attached to more than 80% of its roughly 550 Boeing 737s. More than 100 airlines currently use them. The devices, which stand eight feet tall on 737s, are manufactured under contract by an Austrian company.
Initially, some Boeing engineers were skeptical that the winglets, which add weight to a plane, would boost performance, according to Mr. Clark and Boeing officials. But in 1999, Aviation Partners showed in test flights that its devices cut fuel burn, and the companies formed their joint venture.
Modern winglets were developed in the 1970s by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, whose research on them is publicly available.
Aviation Partners, which says it improved on earlier designs by rethinking the devices as tall, graceful extensions of a plane's wings, says its blended winglets, which are on about 3,500 Boeing jetliners, cut fuel consumption by 5% to 7%, letting planes fly further. The company says it will "vigorously protect our patented technology."
source: http://online.wsj.com/article
Winglets have gotten a major boost from Southwest Airlines Co., which has had them attached to more than 80% of its roughly 550 Boeing 737s. More than 100 airlines currently use them. The devices, which stand eight feet tall on 737s, are manufactured under contract by an Austrian company.
Initially, some Boeing engineers were skeptical that the winglets, which add weight to a plane, would boost performance, according to Mr. Clark and Boeing officials. But in 1999, Aviation Partners showed in test flights that its devices cut fuel burn, and the companies formed their joint venture.
Modern winglets were developed in the 1970s by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, whose research on them is publicly available.
Aviation Partners, which says it improved on earlier designs by rethinking the devices as tall, graceful extensions of a plane's wings, says its blended winglets, which are on about 3,500 Boeing jetliners, cut fuel consumption by 5% to 7%, letting planes fly further. The company says it will "vigorously protect our patented technology."
