Writer

Amy Laboda

<a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainalerts/2012-03-13/easa-oks-aviation-partners-winglets-dassault-falcon-900-series">Aviation Partners</a> (Stand 128) is introducing its Falcon 50 blended-winglet modification to the European market with the arrival of its flight test aircraft in the static display at EBACE 2012. The aircraft made the 3,129-nm trip from Seattle’s Boeing Field to Geneva International Airport with one stop, in Keflavik, Iceland, according to pilots Dave Hurley, Bo Corby and John Reinhold.


The U.S. company patented blended-winglet technology more than 20 years ago. Its initial market debut was on a Gulfstream IISP, resulting in a range boost and fuel-efficiency improvement in excess of 7 percent. In the mid-1990s, Boeing adopted blended-winglet technology for the Boeing Business Jet and Next-Generation Boeing 737 series aircraft.


The winglets on the Falcon 50 testbed are “high Mach” blended winglets, optimized for higher cruise speeds and providing a range increase of 5 percent at Mach 0.80, and more than 7 percent for long-range cruise. Blended winglets incorporate a large radius and a smooth chord variation in the wing-to-winglet transition areas for optimum aerodynamic loading that avoids vortex concentrations producing drag. They enhance longitudinal and directional aircraft stability, providing better handling in turbulence.


“Blended winglets make [the Falcon 50] one of the greatest business jets ever produced even better,” said Joe Clark, founder and CEO of Aviation Partners. The aircraft is expected to return to flight-testing immediately after EBACE 2012. The company has already started to take orders for installation slots. Retrofits will begin upon certification.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.