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Ask an Explainer

Q:

How does a the plane fly without winglets?

A:

Winglets are the folded up piece at the end of the wing. They're installed to decrease wingtip vortices, which is another cause of drag on the aircraft.

Aircraft do not need them: but having them does make them more efficient. Without them, the plane will have to deal with more vortex drag, and will not be able to fly as easily, but it will still be able to fly. 

Ask an Explainer
Posted on November 5, 2014 at 5:03 pm
Categories:
Flight Dynamics
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