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Airbus continues evolution of A320 family with diverse winglet designs

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Airbus continues evolution of A320 family with diverse winglet designs
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Webp a320
Airbus A320 | Wikipedia

Looking at the Airbus A320 family, one can observe variations in winglets. Older models might have no winglets, resembling designs from the 1980s. Some feature a triangular wingtip fence extending above and below the wing, while newer models boast 'Sharklets', which are blended winglets with a curve similar to a shark's fin.

The A320 played a significant role in airplane wing design evolution. Blended winglets, seen on many modern aircraft, offer benefits like reduced drag and improved fuel efficiency. An Airbus retrofit package allows older A320s to be fitted with Sharklets for enhanced performance.

Wingtip fences were first introduced on an airliner with the Airbus A310-300 in 1985. They reduce drag by directing airflow smoothly off the wingtips, decreasing wake vortices. Benefits include reduced take-off distance, higher cruise altitudes, increased fuel economy, and decreased turbulence intensity.

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Different types of winglets on the A320 have evolved over time. Initially equipped with wingtip fences improving cruise fuel consumption by over 1.5%, later versions tested blended winglets from 2006 onward. The Sharklet was unveiled at the November 2009 Dubai Airshow, offering a 3.5% fuel burn reduction on flights over 2,800 km.

According to Didier Lux, "Customers of new A320 Family aircraft are unanimously enthusiastic about the benefits which Sharklets already bring to their operations." The retrofit program for existing A320s became available in 2015.

FACC has manufactured over 2,000 Sharklets for Airbus as of June 2024. CEO Robert Machtlinger stated: "Producing 2,000 Sharklets for our customer Airbus is a milestone for FACC."

While older triangular wingtips may become less common due to newer designs like Sharklets produced by FACC, they still offer advantages such as resistance to ice formation disruptions and space-saving benefits.

RUAG Aerostructures continues manufacturing these devices for all A320 aircraft in operation today. Wingtip fences provide benefits compared to planes without any such features and remain cost-effective options for retrofitting older models.

Organizations Included in this History
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