Warum Flugzeuge diese gebogenen Flügelenden haben

Why does an airplane have those strangely curved wingtips? The upward-curving wingtips are called winglets, or sharklets at Airbus. Although they increase mass, surface area, and stress on the outer wing, they can reduce fuel consumption by up to 4 percent, according to Airbus. The reason isn't that they simply block or eliminate the wingtip vortices. As small, precisely profiled airfoils, they alter the lift distribution and reduce induced drag. Aerodynamically, a longer wing would often be the cleaner solution—but its span is limited by taxiways, parking positions, and airport size categories. Although they increase mass, surface area, and stress on the outer wing, Airbus claims them as well. This video explains: • how the pressure difference between the underside and upper surface of the wing creates wingtip vortices and induced drag • why a winglet functions as a profiled airfoil and not as a simple flap • how the crossflow at the wingtip generates a force, a portion of which acts in the direction of flight • why Richard Whitcomb's 1976 design was aerodynamically superior to earlier wingtip discs • how NASA flight tests confirmed approximately 20 percent less induced drag and a 7 percent better lift-to-drag ratio • why sharklets on the Airbus A320 can save up to 4 percent fuel, but retrofitting requires reinforcements to the wing structure • why the benefit depends on flight distance, speed, altitude, weight, and flight phase • how ICAO wingspan limits and the folding wingtips of the Boeing 777X demonstrate that airports influence the shape of modern wings Winglets are therefore not only an aerodynamic component but also a response to the fixed limitations of airport infrastructure. Sources and further information: Winglet – Function, designs, and wingtip vortices: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winglet NASA – Development and testing of winglets by Richard Whitcomb: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2010/... Airbus – Sharklet retrofit for the A320 family: https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/pr... ICAO – Aerodrome Reference Code and wingspan classes: https://www.icao.int/filebrowser/down... Boeing – 777X Airport planning and folding wingtips (PDF): https://www.boeing.com/content/dam/bo... #Winglets #Sharklets #Aerodynamics #AircraftEngineering #PhysicsSimplyExplained #Documentation