Boeing and Aviation Partners, the Seattle-based winglet design specialist, are to form a new joint venture company - Aviation Partners Boeing - to provide winglets for in-service Boeing commercial aircraft.
The deal is a major breakthrough for Aviation Partners and its chief executive Joe Clark, who has been promoting the potential operating advantages of the company's blended winglet for larger aircraft for several years.
The joint venture builds on the two companies' link to fit winglets on Boeing Business Jets (BBJs). The BBJ is set to have blended winglets like the smaller units developed for the Gulfstream II.
Boeing says the new joint venture will "design, develop, certify, fabricate, market, sell and install winglets on in-service Boeing aircraft, pending technical and economic evaluations of each model".
Boeing will provide technical data and marketing support, while Aviation Partners will provide the winglet technology, design and programme management. Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group Customer Services executive vice-president Tom Schick describes the deal as "an important new business opportunity for Boeing".
Although no details of the plan have been announced, the immediate focus for studies is expected to be the 737 and possibly the 747. The winglets for the BBJ, a corporate version of the Next Generation 737, have attracted interest from several airline customers.
Flight tests, initially conducted on a 737-800, revealed drag savings equal to a 5-7% increase in range, or roughly 550km (300nm) in the case of the BBJ.
Boeing cautions that, although it sees "excellent potential" for retrofitting the 10,500 commercial Boeing aircraft in service, it has not yet decided to offer winglet technology on new commercial aircraft. "Such a decision will ultimately depend upon the level of customer interest and the value of winglets to the customer."
Nevertheless, the Next Generation 737, as well as its "Classic" predecessor, will be considered prime candidates, as will the 747-400, which is equipped with Boeing-designed winglets. The improved performance of the blended design, which smooths out the intersection between the upper and lower surfaces of the wing and the winglet itself, is thought to be attractive enough to merit study.
The winglet's long-range cruise performance also makes it more likely that aircraft such as the 747-200 and -300 will be among the first to be studied, although the company has yet to confirm this.
Early interest is expected to be particularly strong among freight operators, especially cargo airlines flying 747-200Fs.
Source: Flight International
