Jan 2012. Airbus files patent for flexible downward pointing winglet...

Airbus Files Patent For Downward-Facing Winglet at Flightstory.net - Aviation Blog, News & Stories

http://www.flightstory.net/wp-conten...-2-613x700.jpg

QinetiQ's Zephyr 7 UAV used downward facing wingtips, although from what I recall, these were to reduce torsional twisting in the wing. It was explained to me how, but I can't remember. :confused:

http://images.xpert-zone.com/images/oooueu.jpg

Why no 777 winglets......

To counteract this effect, the wing needs to be strengthened. On an Airbus A330, some 440 pounds of reinforcement had to be added.

Tamarack Active Winglets Offer Weight-saving Aerodynamic Improvements | Aviation International News

new Poseidon...
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...01380765_n.jpg

Look who didnt read this thread!

JetBlue Airways (JBLU) has agreed to purchase 110 ship-sets of retrofit Sharklets from leading aircraft manufacturer – Airbus.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jetblu...w_default=true

A350 XWB...interesting configuration of winglets...

http://image-store.slidesharecdn.com...0-original.jpg

FlightPath,

It looks weird because of the perspective of the photo. Here is another photo taken of the same airplane. http://i.imgur.com/uuqth6O.jpg

You can see the right winglet is nicely tilted upwards and not "curled-over" like your photo makes it look like. The left winglet explains the discrepancy between your photo and mine - the winglet is actually curved backwards towards the tail. It seems logical that this would help reduce induced drag as the winglet is affecting the air for a longer time, reducing the intensity of the wingtip vortex. It'd be interested in some aerodynamic analysis of this but I doubt Airbus will be revealing any of that data!

As an aside to the discussion on winglets, why does the B777 have such pronounced dihedral?

not sure on the 777..

I am curious why the brand new P-8, which is a 737-800 built with 737-900ER wings, looks like that...