Aviation: New Trinitair Wingtip Designed to Reduce Fuel Consumption by 2%

The Aircraft Performance Company (APC) has designed Trinitair, a new multi-fingered Plug & Fly retrofit wingtip solution that promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of in-service aircraft.

In aviation, each kg of fuel saved on a flight reduces CO2 emissions by 3.16 kg. The new wingtip Trinitair, is capable of reducing fuel consumption by up to 2%, and on particular applications even more than that.

This new wingtip will not only help airlines reduce costs, but will also enable them to reduce their environmental footprint. Less than one day is needed for installation.

Trinitair is now on its final phase of development and will have its maiden test-flight, scheduled to take place this year, on a Hi Fly Airbus A330.

Harald Zirngibl, Managing Director of The APC, said, “With its 3-finger wingtip solution, born from a sketch on a napkin, The APC is developing a new technology that enables airlines to reduce the carbon footprint of the aircraft they operate. The new winglet not only reduces fuel consumption, but also optimizes the overall performance. The engineers at The APC use well-founded, patented knowledge of flow and structural mechanics to achieve an optimal circulation distribution of the outer wing by locally influencing or expanding the wingtip vortex.

“A flight from Frankfurt to Hong Kong, for example, would save at least 1.2 tons of fuel. Applied to global air traffic, this means a considerable overall reduction in fuel and thus in CO2 emissions. The handling of available resources, cost effectiveness and pragmatism are also fundamental. Increasing the efficiency of valuable in-service aircraft will immediately benefit our environment. With the “Plug & Fly” concept, the winglets are airworthy within one day. The use of further resources to optimize the fleets is kept as low as possible. It is not the time to wait for the one big solution that can make aviation emission-free in one fell swoop. Effective and implementable transitional steps must be taken quickly on the way there, which drive and support the entire process - that's our approach at The APC.”

Trinitair is a joint project for the environment supported by Hi Fly and its principal sustainability partner, the Mirpuri Foundation.

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