Winging It - Aviation Partners Boeing Every So Often, an Innovation Comes Along That Revolutionises an Industry
AF28REGULARS 13/11/03 9:13 am Page 42 REGULARS Winging it - Aviation Partners Boeing Every so often, an innovation comes along that revolutionises an industry. For the aviation industry, Blended Winglets would be a definite contender. Reducing fuel burn, increasing performance capabilities of aircraft, reducing noise and emissions, they are in aviation terms the Holy Grail. Founded in 1991, Aviation Partners Inc (API) provides winglets for Gulfstream IIs and, through a partnership with Boeing, for all Boeing Originally designed for the Gulfstream II, Blended Winglets have become part of the Boeing commercial aircraft. AF&AM profile. talks with Joe Clark, CEO of ecessity is the mother of capabilities, reduced emissions and a the company. invention. When entrepreneur quieter noise footprint. NDenis Washington wanted to The results piqued the interest of update his Gulfstream II, improving its Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) president performance and modernising its Borge Boeskov, as much for the appearance, without investing the aesthetics of the Blended Winglet millions of dollars necessary for a new design, which would differentiate the model, he turned to his friend, Joe Clark, BBJs from the commercial B737-800, as "Like any invention that you founder of Horizon Air and Jet Air, (the for the operational benefits they would come up with where there’s a first Lear Jet distributorship in northwest add to the aircraft. A prototype winglet little company and a big north America), to come up with a design design for the BBJ improved its to meet the challenge. It heralded the performance by 6.5 per cent (which API company,there is always a lot of start of Aviation Partners Inc (API).
[Show full text]