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Winglets are vertical extensions of wingtips that improve an aircraft's fuel efficiency and cruising range. Designed as small airfoils, winglets reduce the aerodynamic drag associated with vortices that develop at the wingtips as the airplane moves through the air. By reducing wingtip drag, fuel consumption goes down and range is extended.
Aircraft of all types and sizes are flying with winglets -- from single-seat hang gliders and ultralights to global jumbo jets. Some aircraft are designed and manufactured with sleek upturned winglets that blend smoothly into the outer wing sections. Add-on winglets are also custom made for many types of aircraft.
The concept of winglets originated with a British aerodynamicist in the late 1800s, but the idea remained on the drawing board until rekindled in the early 1970s by Dr. Richard Whitcomb when the price of aviation fuel started spiraling upward.
Whitcomb, a noted aeronautical engineer at the NASA Langley Research Center, refined the winglet concept with wind tunnel tests and computer studies. He then predicted that transport-size aircraft with winglets would realize improved cruising efficiencies of between 6% and 9%. A winglet flight test program at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in 1979-80 validated Whitcomb's research when the test aircraft -- a military version of the Boeing 707 jetliner -- recorded an increased fuel mileage rate of 6.5%.
The Benefits of Winglets
Since the 1970s, when the price of aviation fuel began spiraling upward, airlines and aircraft manufacturers have looked at many ways to improve the operating efficiency of their aircraft. Winglets have become one of the industry's most visible fuel-saving technologies and their use continues to expand.
Winglets increase an aircraft's operating efficiency by reducing what is called induced drag at the tips of the wings. An aircraft's wing is shaped to generate negative pressure on the upper surface and positive pressure on the lower
Aircraft of all types and sizes are flying with winglets -- from single-seat hang gliders and ultralights to global jumbo jets. Some aircraft are designed and manufactured with sleek upturned winglets that blend smoothly into the outer wing sections. Add-on winglets are also custom made for many types of aircraft.
The concept of winglets originated with a British aerodynamicist in the late 1800s, but the idea remained on the drawing board until rekindled in the early 1970s by Dr. Richard Whitcomb when the price of aviation fuel started spiraling upward.
Whitcomb, a noted aeronautical engineer at the NASA Langley Research Center, refined the winglet concept with wind tunnel tests and computer studies. He then predicted that transport-size aircraft with winglets would realize improved cruising efficiencies of between 6% and 9%. A winglet flight test program at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in 1979-80 validated Whitcomb's research when the test aircraft -- a military version of the Boeing 707 jetliner -- recorded an increased fuel mileage rate of 6.5%.
The Benefits of Winglets
Since the 1970s, when the price of aviation fuel began spiraling upward, airlines and aircraft manufacturers have looked at many ways to improve the operating efficiency of their aircraft. Winglets have become one of the industry's most visible fuel-saving technologies and their use continues to expand.
Winglets increase an aircraft's operating efficiency by reducing what is called induced drag at the tips of the wings. An aircraft's wing is shaped to generate negative pressure on the upper surface and positive pressure on the lower