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). Clark de-performed to five per cent for scepticism." gathered together a “dream team” of reasons of wing load factors). Boeing —Joe Clark,CEO,Aviation eight retired engineers with an consequently decided to apply the Partners Boeing. impressive pedigree of experience and winglets to all BBJs. In 1999, the two expertise. Working under former Boeing companies formed a joint venture to chief aerodynamicist, Louis Gratzer, two this end. Aviation Partners Boeing years of endeavour resulted in the (APB) was born. Blended Winglet design which was Under the agreement, Boeing provides patented in 1993. the funding, aircraft technical data and Though the theory was not new - that API, the technology, Blended Winglet by relocating the wingtip vortex, drag design, marketing, and programme can be reduced, resulting in greater management. Though API is the operational efficiencies - the curved majority share-holder in the venture, design of the Blended Winglets, and “we prefer to look on ourselves as their effectiveness, were. Tests on the partners,” says Clark, the company’s Gulfstream II showed an improvement CEO. “We’re basically an amalgam of in fuel burn of seven per cent, in the innovation of Aviation Partners and addition to improved performance the strength of Boeing”. 42 Airline Fleet & Asset Management - November/December 2003 AF28REGULARS 13/11/03 9:16 am Page 44 REGULARS say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and since we added Blended Winglets to the B737, it has just been a snowballing market.” The STC for the BBJ Blended Winglet design was received in 2000. To date, 86 BBJs have been sold, more than double Boeing’s estimates of between five and 10 sales annually. This is in no small part due to the Blended Winglet design, says Clark, which has given the aircraft a very distinctive, very sleek and very modern look. APB received the STC for Blended Winglets for the B737-800 in 2001. Winglets remain an optional extra on production B737NG aircraft, but B737- 800s equipped with winglets can fly further, burn up to five per cent less fuel, or carry up to 4,000lb more payload than standard models states Clark, as well as being quieter, providing lower engine maintenance costs and improved take-off performance at high altitude airports in APB has recently gained certification for retro-fitting Blended Winglets to the B737 Classics fleet. hot climate conditions. One of the first customers for the Blended Winglet- The joint venture, extremely successful, equipped B737-800 was Qantas, which has been an achievement in itself for API placed an order for seven with an which had to overcome a mountain of additional 40 options, citing winglets as market scepticism - particularly from the deciding factor in the sale. To date, 25 Airbus and Boeing - as to the validity of per cent of the B737NG market has been its performance claims of the winglets. fitted with winglets, a figure which Clark Such market reticence is understandable. believes should grow to between 75 and The “Dream Team”, retired and in their 80 per cent in the future. seventies, had succeeded where so many More recently, APB has received STC had failed before, not only achieving the certification for a Blended Winglet design most impressive results in the market, but with which to retrofit B737 Classics. The using outmoded methods of engineering company is also in the throes of and testing. Eschewing the use of developing winglets for B757, B767, B747 computational fluid dynamics and wind aircraft. Most of the research and tunnel testing - “wind tunnels do not give development for these latter has been you accurate information on the done, says Clark. “We’re at the point now performance of winglets,” says Clark - the where we are out seeking customers to engineers had instead opted for the more launch these programmes.” old-fashioned method of instrumenting - The one blot on the horizon is the flying aircraft at different points in the downturn and consequent cash-shortages sky and at different settings and weights, of the airlines. A stagnant market is never and from that designing the prototype going to be condusive to sales and winglets. consequently, while there has been a lot of Boeing has, of course, since revised its interest in the B737 Classics’ retrofit opinion, “but in the initial stages it was winglets, says Clark, “that hasn’t a rocky road,” says Clark. “Like any culminated into large orders as yet.” No invention that you come up with where takers, either, to launch the B757, B767, there’s a little company and a big B747 winglets, despite the proven company, there is always a lot of efficiencies and cash-savings that they scepticism. Boeing is a big ship and big could bring the airlines. It is a significant ships take a long time to turn. It is the challenge. “If we could somehow finance same with every big company. But I will these airlines, then we would have double 44 Airline Fleet & Asset Management - November/December 2003 AF28REGULARS 13/11/03 9:18 am Page 45 REGULARS the amount of winglets on aircraft than very closely with them; the design was there are now, and airlines would be thought out very carefully over a period of saving a lot more fuel. If we could finance time.” Bearing in mind the growing the winglets on fuel savings alone, we number of low-cost carriers in the region, would put them on every single aircraft.” as well as growing environmental In fact, Blended Winglets can, and should regulations, Clark believes that Europe will be, applied to all 25,000 commercial aircraft provide a particularly lucrative market for in the market, believes Clark, translating the winglets - although their cost-savings into savings of billions of barrels of fuel, appeal is universal. Staring at the future: a Blended Winglet. good not just for airline coffers but the As for the competition, while Airbus environment. But while APB has actively produces its own winglets (first displayed been trying to find a solution to the on an A320), the market is so far financing that currently stymies its market, remarkably free from independent any talks with banks - one possible winglet manufacturers. Quiet Wing solution for gaining funding - have proved Systems designed winglets for the B727 fruitless as financial institutions have and there have been murmurings of become increasingly no-risk lenders. A moving on to providing winglets for possible other solution, and one which B737 Classics and B747s, but Clark does would make good sense, says Clark, would not see Quiet Wing Systems as be governmental aid in the form of tax competition. “In fact, zero,” he says. credits. But to date, all requests have fallen “Our Blended Winglets are certified on "I think we will save Southwest on deaf ears. the B737 Classics with Boeing support something like 17 million gallons But when the market does return, Clark and a Boeing warranty. The fact that we anticipates high demand and despite a are a partner with Boeing, and that we of fuel this year alone,based on market under siege, APB has notched up have access to all their data plus their full 170 aircraft fitted with winglets some significant orders under the direction support, that is key for airlines. I think saving roughly 100,000 gallons of its new CEO, Mike Marino. In June, we have the superior technology.” of fuel per airframe." Canadian low-fare carrier WestJet A design that API is currently working on announced that it would be installing is the Spiroid winglet. This is, basically, a —Joe Clark,CEO,Aviation Blended Winglets on seven of its B737-700 double winglet design which, through Partners Boeing fleet, making it the first North American being circular, eliminates the wing tip carrier to operate B737-700 Blended vortex thus further reducing drag. Results Winglets. Aloha Airlines placed an order so far have shown a 10 per cent decrease in in August for its entire fleet of 12 B737- fuel-burn.

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