Las Vegas, October 21, 2013… Aviation Partners, Inc. (API) today announced that Aviation Partners Boeing (APB), its joint venture with the Boeing Company, has launched its new Split Scimitar™ Winglet (SSW) program for the Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) family of aircraft. The announcement to launch the BBJ SSW comes on the heels of similar announcements from APB for the Boeing 737 NG airliners earlier this year. Using a newly patented API design, the SSW program will completely redefine the aerodynamics of the existing Blended Winglet. The retrofit to the existing BBJ Blended Winglet will consist of adding a new Scimitar tipped Ventral Strake, beef up of internal winglet structure, and replacement of the aluminum winglet tip caps with new aerodynamically shaped “Scimitar” tip caps. This revolutionary design was flight tested by API in 2012 on a BBJ (the actual airplane used is on display at Boeing’s NBAA static display) and confirmed significant drag reduction over the basic Blended Winglet configuration. The unique feature of the Spilt Scimitar Winglet is that it builds on the existing Blended Winglet design to provide a dramatic performance improvement without increasing the existing wing span.
For long-range BBJ operations, the SSW will provide a drag reduction, and corresponding range increase, of 2.5-3.0% over the current Blended Winglet configuration. This translates to a range increase of 200 nautical miles or more for long range operators.
“The Split Scimitar Winglet range benefit is tremendously compelling given the missions many BBJ owners undertake,” said Joe Clark, API Founder and CEO, “and based on our ongoing study of laminar flow we believe further improvements in drag reduction will be available in the near future.”
The Split Scimitar Winglets will be available as a retrofit for the BBJ, BBJ2 and BBJ3; with FAA STC for all models anticipated in 2014. The Split Scimitar Winglets are being displayed at the 2013 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition on a BBJ at the Henderson Executive Airport static display, and at API’s booth (C8114) inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information visit API at NBAA or fly to www.aviationpartners.com.
Aviation Partners, Inc. Seattle, Washington based Aviation Partners, Inc. (API) is the world leader in advanced Winglet technology. API’s patented Performance Enhancing Blended Winglets™ have been designed and certified for a number of commercial and business aircraft; applications include Boeing, Falcon, Hawker and Gulfstream airframes. Over 5,400 in-service aircraft have saved an estimated 3.9 billion gallons of fuel. In addition to the 5-7% improvement in fuel burn, Blended Winglets have reduced global CO2 emissions by almost 42 million tons. Additional airframe programs are in-development for existing Blended Winglet technology, and future Winglet designs will lead to greater incremental improvements in performance, fuel savings and emissions reduction.
For further information: Gary Dunn, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, +1-206-310-2904, gdunn@winglets.com
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