pointy things on MD-80 wingtips

[Salomanuel]

What are those for?
http://i.imgur.com/DRUhs5y.jpg

[glendalegoon]

static discharge wicks

[Beech_Boy]

Oh dear....might as well just collect our things and go home now

[Salomanuel]

man this is disappointing, I was hoping for some incredible aerodynamic device like a mega-krueger-nazi-vortilion strake

but thanks!

[Capetonian]

They're chemtrail sprayers, but please don't tell anyone.

[JammedStab]

I see a non-pointy thing labelled as parallel chord section. Are you referring to this? Ignoring the static dischargers, the aft outboard section of the wing appears to have a design with multiple changes in angle or shape. I wonder what the background is for that design which probably adds to construction expense.

[Zaphod Beblebrox]

Great Scott!!! I must have been asleep in ground school that day.

When I woke up I seem to remember someone telling me they were 40 Gigawatt Zerfalator Generators. A guy told me they are the thingies that charges the flux capacitors. Maybe that's why I didn't do to well on the pop quiz that day.

Can I go back to sleep now?

[Intruder]

All that, plus passive Stealth design so they can fly away unseen into the sunset.

[glendalegoon]

Lucky for us he didn't ask about the downward pointed spotlight thingy

;-)

He might find out about the anti gravity drive plate!

[Salomanuel]

I see a non-pointy thing labelled as parallel chord section. Are you referring to this? Ignoring the static dischargers, the aft outboard section of the wing appears to have a design with multiple changes in angle or shape. I wonder what the background is for that design which probably adds to construction expense. I was asking about the static dischargers.
And I couldn't find any better picture, so I choose one from THIS awesome page about the DC-9 and MD-80s (very suggested reading)
(http://airlinercafe.com/page.php?id=396)
Between another gazillion things, it also explains why those multiple angle shapes are there for
(spoiler alert, the MD-80's wings are DC-9's enlarged ones and that section was added between the DC-9's wing and wingtip)

thanks guys, now I'm going to read about the downward pointed spotlight thingy
damn, it spins too! :-D

[glendalegoon]

salomanuel

you show exceptionally good taste in airplanes. The DC9 series is called: the last pilot's airliner.

You should also read why the elevators are often in opposite directions while on the ground.

;-)

[Tinstaafl]

Dammit, Capetonian, don't mislead people. You know damn well that they're not all chemtrail nozzles. They're just plain, ordinary static wicks.

Well, except for the odd one out - but we better not talk about that one.

[Salomanuel]

@glendalegoon
yeah from passenger and Flight Simulator experience, I've already guessed why there was that behavior, but that page covered control tabs too!