A new “triple” winglet will be installed and tested and an Airbus A330 from the Portuguese company Hi Fly. The new equipment is developed by the German company The Aircraft Performance Company GmbH (APC).
called Trinitair, the APC winglet promises to further increase aircraft performance, reducing the fuel consumption of an A330 by between 1% and 2%. “It may seem like a small percentage, but on a flight from Frankfurt to New York you save 600 kilos of fuel, and between Frankfurt and Hong Kong twice that much”, says the manufacturer of the product.
In addition, each kilogram of kerosene saved reduces CO2 emissions by 3,16 kilograms, according to the German portal flugrevue. Fuel economy also reduces engine wear. According to APC, the new winglet can be installed in just one day. Hi Fly wants to be the first airline in the world to install Trinitair on an A330 and test it in flight later this year.
“In an industry that is increasingly concerned about preserving our planet and wondering how it can positively contribute to it on a day-to-day basis, investing in green technology is the right way to go”, said Paulo Mirpuri, president of Hi Fly and the Mirpuri Foundation.
Harald Zirngibl, managing director of APC, said: “The three-blade solution was literally created on a napkin. It not only reduces fuel consumption, but also improves overall flight performance. We use well-founded, patented discoveries in fluid mechanics and structural mechanics to ensure optimal pressure distribution. To do this, we influence the local flow and distribute the resulting vortex. We don't have to wait for the big breakthrough, we take action to reduce emissions and start right away.”
According to Luchtvaart Nieuws, once certified, the winglet can be quickly installed on existing aircraft. Installed on the tips of aircraft wings, winglets serve to reduce the induced drag that generates vortices on the wing tips.
