Winglets are Not Always the Best Way to Reduce Wingtip Drag

Wing technology has been a major focus of airlines developing modern narrowbody jets. A highly effective drag-reducing device well-understood in aerodynamic engineering is the drag-reducing winglet mounted on wingtips, which is designed to reduce induced drag at the wingtips (See Vortex-Reducing Winglets). But latest wing design research indicates winglets are not always the best solution for aerodynamic efficiency, because, as recently stated by Daniel Galhardo, director of strategy at Embraer commercial aviation, “choosing the optimal...