Originally Posted by
biffstephens
I believe it. Why not? I think in aviation they make advances like this all the time....a plane body design that will have a range of 5000 miles instead of 4500.....hell didn't adding those flip up wing tips add something or are they just for looks and make Southwest want to buy some new planes?
In the end they are just saying that you will get there X amount faster at the same power...
Doesn't seem to far fetched to me....I do agree marketing embellishes as I am sure they did but I believe it to be true to some extent...
I have to add a comment here about your flip up wing tips. They are actually called winglets and serve a specific purpose on the aircraft. Due to the lift created by the airfoil and the difference in pressure on the upper and lower surfaces a rotational pressure field is generate, termed a wingtip vortice. The wingtip vortices decrease the effectiveness of the airfoil and increases the drag. The winglet prevents more like decreases the magnitude of these vortices and thus the effective lift of the airfoil is increased while the drag is decreased. Any small aircraft pilot knows that while landing or taking off after a large aircraft they must ensure that they do not fly into these vortices otherwise they will have a very unpleasant ride and it might very well be there last.