Boeing’s newly announced winglet technology is expected to be the last major change to the 737 MAX before the aircraft design is finalized, the program’s chief engineer said Wednesday.
Boeing revealed it was incorporating a new, all-Boeing developed winglet into the 737 MAX design that should give the aircraft up to a 1.5% fuel-burn improvement on top of the 10%-12% improvement that the new-engine MAX is expected to provide over today’s newest 737s.
Boeing previously announced a series of other design changes to the new-engine variant in April. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, MAX chief project engineer Michael Teal said the window was closing fast to make any further major design changes while ensuring the MAX program stays on schedule. “This will likely be the last area of major change,” he said.
All design changes have been focused on further improving fuel-burn and efficiency. The new winglets are unusual in that they stretch above and below the wing, using advanced computational fluid dynamics to combine rake tip technology with a dual feather winglet concept that reduces drag. Teal said the winglets would extend the span of the aircraft by just inches and the MAX would still fit within the same airport footprint and have the same ground clearance as classic 737s.
Boeing said that low-speed wind tunnel tests in Farnborough, UK, and high-speed wind tunnel tests in Seattle have validated the winglet concept.
"We have assessed the risk and understand how to leverage this new technology on the MAX within our current schedule. This puts us on track to deliver substantial additional fuel savings to our customers in 2017," Teal said.
Boeing developed the winglets in-house and separately from its joint-venture company Aviation Partners Boeing, which makes patented Blended Winglets for the 737, 757 and 767. The MAX winglet design is potentially scalable to other aircraft, Teal said, but the focus for now is on applying them to the MAX.
Article Source : ATW Daily News
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