Hybrid Winglets?

popaviator

popaviator

Well-Known Member
I remember seeing a member post a photo of a hybrid looking winglet. Does anyone know where I can find this pic? I looked like a hollowed out sqaure on the edge of the wing. I've tried searching google, and so far have not been able to find anything about it. Thanks guys!
 
28-winglets.jpg


This thing was at Van Nuys the other day. I'll see if I can get the guy who took the pics to fwd them to me. Kinda gunny looking if you ask me. We'll see if they actually work.
 
mshunter said:
28-winglets.jpg


This thing was at Van Nuys the other day. I'll see if I can get the guy who took the pics to fwd them to me. Kinda gunny looking if you ask me. We'll see if they actually work.
Click to expand...


The pic (I hope) seems to confuse the relative sizes of the winglet to the aircraft--unless the winglet is actually taller and wider than the fuselage.


interesting post!
 
Ollie said:
It's an illusion caused by the composition of the photograph. There are several more photos of the airplane out there including this one:

1749948.jpg
Click to expand...


Thx.

Any info on the aerodynamics of it?

I don't get it.

A typical winglet, you are "breaking" the high pressure leaking up on to the lower pressure top of the wing from the wing-tip.

I don't get it.

A wind-tunnel pic of this thing would be very cool.


neat stuff.
 
Aviation Partners Falcon 50 with Spiroids Arrives Oshkosh
Aviation Partners Falcon 50 with Spiroids Arrives Oshkosh
Posted by Fred George at 7/25/2010 1:52 PM CDT


Photo: Fred George. (L) Sky Randolph, API flight test engineer, (C) Phil Brown, API experimental test pilot and (R) Jim Young, API experiment test pilot behind left wing spiroid.

Sunday, July 25, 2010, Aviation Partners' Falcon 50, fitted with proof-of-concept "spiroid" wing tip devices, arrived at EAA AirVenture 2010 on its second flight after installation of the experimental modification. The aircraft was flown from Alton, MO to Oshkosh by Phil Brown and Jim Young with Sky Randolph at the flight test console in the main cabin of the aircraft.



Photo: Fred George. Pilots (L) Phil Brown and (R) Jim Young

API's flight tests of the spiroid-equipped Falcon 50 are being sponsored by NASA to determine what the potential fuel savings of the spiroids might be compared to other wing modifications, such as API's own blended winglets. Those devices already yield as much as a five to five and one-half percent percent reduction in drag. The spiroids promise a greater drag reduction.

In addition, API engineers believe that spiroids could be more effective at reducing drag over a wider range of lift coefficients and cruise speeds than winglets.

API's aero guru Louis "Bernie" Gratzer, PhD, senior VP technology, first fitted a Gulfstream II with spiroids more than a decade ago. Based upon preliminary test results on the G II, Dr. Gratzer modified the spiroid design by moving the inboard section of the device farther aft on the wing on the Falcon 50, more closely paralleling the spiral rotation of the wing tip vortex. The modification is expected further to improve the efficiency of the device.

The proof-of-concept winglets and structural bee of the Falcon 50 wing add about 550 lb to the empty weight of the aircraft. Brown and Young believe that production spiroids would be considerably lighter in weight.

The aircraft currently is limited to 250 KIAS and .70 IMN pending flutter tests that will enable the flight envelope to be expanded. The NASA / API program will involve about 25 flights to evaluate the performance of the spiroids.


The theory is that these winglets will also cut fuel consumption by 6% - 10% in cruise flight.
 
Forgot to add..... they are designed to control the circulation of air around a wingtip, from the higher pressure below to the lower pressure above; when properly designed and configured, they can actually recover a significant amount of energy from this wingtip vortex-while at the same time making the vortex itself somewhat less of a threat to other following aircraft. Pretty interesting concept. I am reading over the patent for them at the moment.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5102068.html
 
API holds the STC for the Hawker 800 winglets (not the puny factory ones on the 850XP/900). If they do for the Falcon 50 what they have done for the Hawker 800, it will be well worth the cost.
 
beasly said:
A typical winglet, you are "breaking" the high pressure leaking up on to the lower pressure top of the wing from the wing-tip.
Click to expand...

Not at all, winglets are too small to significantly dam the flow from bottom to top; rather, they are vertical wings that take advantage of the airflow around the wingtip to generate forward thrust that negates part of the induced drag.
 
I went up to these guys at Oshkosh and asked why the Falcon had "Experimental" on the. All he did was point, didn't even answer the question. It was one of those "keep you modest" moments :insane:
 
tgrayson said:
Not at all, winglets are too small to significantly dam the flow from bottom to top; rather, they are vertical wings that take advantage of the airflow around the wingtip to generate forward thrust that negates part of the induced drag.
Click to expand...


Interesting! Thanks for the heads up. I will keep my eyes open for documentation on that.

Cheers.
 
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