Aero-TV: Blended Winglets - Advanced Technology from Aviation Partners

Fine-Tuning Aerodynamic Efficiency, Wingtip By Wingtip

Aviation Partners estimates that Blended Winglet technology has saved the industry MILLIONS of gallons of jet fuel. Further; they project that by the end of 2014, Blended Winglets will have saved in excess of 5 BILLION gallons of jet fuel. Yes... BILLIONS.

I love boastful companies... so long as the reality lives up to the hype. In the case of Aviation partners, Inc., a fat order book seems fairly convincing proof that the industry is experiencing the gains that the company claims for their aircraft modification efforts. From the hawker series to the BBJ and other Boeings, Aviation Partners Blended Winglets claim to reduce wingtip vortex, resulting in less drag, lower fuel burn and superior climb and cruise characteristics. In addition, Blended Winglets upgrade the look of a straight-wing aircraft (no argument, there...).

First introduced for the Gulfstream II in 1992, this technology has been installed on over 70% of the GII fleet, along with more than 100 Hawker 800 series aircraft, and over 3,500 Boeing jets. The Boeing case is particularly compelling in that a typical Blended Winglet-equipped 737 saves 100,000 gallons of fuel per year. Over the course of two decades, Aviation Partners, a Seattle-based private corporation founded in 1991 by Joe Clark and Dennis Washington, has had an impressive effect on the aviation industry... and the cost of operation of thousands of jet aircraft.

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