(Correspondent Luo Minying) When traveling on a Urumqi Airlines flight, do you pay attention to the wings of the aircraft? Perhaps, attentive passengers have seen it through the floor-to-ceiling window of the terminal building before boarding, or they may have seen it through the cabin window during the flight. Urumqi Airlines' aircraft wing ends are always tilted upwards at an almost vertical angle, why is there such a design? Today, I will take you to unveil the "winglets" of the aircraft wings.
Why do aircraft wings have "winglets"?
First of all, the reason why the aircraft can fly in the sky is because when the aircraft begins to move, the air flow flows through the upper and lower surfaces of the wing, due to the different arcs of the upper and lower surfaces, the speed of air flow is different, the pressure generated is also different, and the pressure difference caused by the different pressures on the upper and lower surfaces will produce upward lift on the wing. When the air velocity increases, the resulting lift is gradually greater than the gravity of the aircraft itself, and the aircraft can leave the ground and fly in the air.
However, the flow of air flowing through the surface of the wing will not only produce lift, but also the air flow through the lower surface of the wing will also bypass the wing tips and flow to the upper surface of the wing, forming a strong vortex air flow, and as the flight speed of the aircraft increases, the resulting vortex air flow will become stronger and stronger, seriously interfering with the stability of the normal flight of the aircraft, while greatly increasing the flight resistance and fuel consumption.
At this time, if the wing tips are equipped with "winglets", "winglets" can help adjust the flow direction of the air flow in the wing tip area, hinder the air flow of the lower surface of the wing to the upper surface of the wing, thereby reducing the strength of the vortex air flow, effectively reducing flight resistance and fuel consumption, and its angle can also produce upward and forward forces at the same time to increase the thrust and lift of the aircraft.
Do all aircraft have "winglets"?
Of course not, this is the choice that every airline makes when it comes to introducing aircraft options. Although the "winglets" can effectively reduce flight resistance and fuel consumption, the weight of the aircraft will also increase after the addition of "winglets", and correspondingly, fuel consumption will also increase. In particular, when performing short-haul routes, the reduced fuel consumption of the installation of "winglets" is far from covering the fuel consumption increased by its own weight, so the "winglets" are generally not installed on aircraft that perform short-haul routes.
Xinjiang is a vast territory, as a local airline, Urumqi Airlines, shouldering the responsibility of connecting Xinjiang and many provinces and cities in the mainland, most of them are long-distance, long-distance routes, so the main aircraft currently operated by Urumqi Airlines, B737-800, are equipped with "winglets".
Do the "winglets" all look the same?
The "winglets" of different models are different, and the "winglets" of the same model may also be different. The early "winglets" are to install a simple vertical winglet on the wing tips, but at this time the wing in order to be able to bear the weight of the "winglet winglets", it needs to be additionally strengthened, while the weight of the winglets themselves also indirectly increases the resistance, and the vertical winglets and horizontal wings are prone to form unfavorable aerodynamic interference at the corners, and poor handling will also bring additional resistance, so the evaluation of the early "winglets" can be described as mixed. In particular, many of the "winglets" that are "hard grafted" on the existing design have more fashion and aesthetic factors than pneumatic benefits.
Different from the above, the main aircraft currently operated by Urumqi Airlines, b737-800 passenger aircraft, are installed with up-the-wing aperture fusion winglets, and the "winglets" are sleek docking with the wings, reducing the impact of adverse aerodynamic interference, while slightly tilting outward, which is more conducive to generating lift, reducing fuel consumption, energy saving and emission reduction at the same time, enhancing the stability of flight, and bringing passengers a more comfortable flight experience.
Want to get a closer look at this magical "winglet winglet"? Hop on a flight to Urumqi Airlines and get a feel for it.