The term “High-Mach” Blended Winglet has gained currency recently with the announcement of a new Blended Winglet Design for the Dassault Falcon 2000EX. This airplane would normally cruise at Mach .74 to .75 for long range cruise conditions; i.e. maximum . Most winglet designs target this design condition as the most appropriate for a business and transport aircraft.
In the case of the Falcon 2000EX, however, Aviation Partners, Inc. was asked to focus on a design that would achieve a 5% range improvement at Mach .80 which is a very high speed condition for this aircraft and three times deeper into the drag rise than for normal cruise. This unprecedented requirement dictated a unique winglet design that would operate efficiently at high-mach conditions. This requirement was met by appropriate adjustments to winglet size, plan form and airfoil sections to accommodate expected wing and winglet loading conditions.
The end result is a well-tailored winglet design by Dr. Louis Gratzer, inventor of the concept along with Aviation Partners, Inc., that performs well in the high-mach regime and provides outstanding drag reductions in the normal cruise regime for this aircraft. Low speed benefits are also substantially greater. This approach significantly extends the range of application, and effectiveness for Blended Winglets beyond that previously considered practical.
