-4.5 à 5.5 % vs 3.5 % annoncés !
A suivre, si c'est crédible.
Si c'est le cas, ça sera plus facile à vendre en attendant le neo
http://www.aspireaviation.com/2012/06/13/the-showdown-in-re-engined-narrowbody-battle-begins/#.T9iQyIWGrBM.twitter
However, Aspire Aviation‘s multiple sources at European aircraft manufacturer Airbus confirm that the sharklets currently undergoing flight tests have exceeded the 3.5% block fuel burn reduction performance guarantee by another 1%-1.5%, depending on stage length as the effect of fuel burn saving is more prominent on longer sectors.
The 3.5% block fuel burn reduction performance guarantee by Airbus is on top of the 1% block fuel burn reduction delivered by the wing-fences on today’s A320 and a 1%-1.5% better-than-expected fuel burn reduction means the sharklets will be 5.5%-6% more fuel efficient than an A320 without any winglet devices. Therefore the net result should be the same or 0.5% better than Boeing’s Advanced Technology winglet, depending on stage length.
The same sources at Airbus say while the sharklet has a shorter height at 2.4m, versus the blended winglet’s 2.49m height, the sharklet has a “very different 3D aerodynamic profile” than the blended winglet and “is much more aerodynamically efficient”. They also reveal that Airbus did study numerous dual-feather and downward-facing winglet designs before eventually settling on the sharklet, while adding the sharklet design, unlike the Advanced Technology winglet on the 737 MAX, will not increase the risk of ramp-rash nor affect the aircraft’s lateral control characteristics.
Moreover, on the contrary to rumours that Airbus is struggling on reinforcing the outer wing box and the centre wing box, these Airbus sources dismiss such claims as “baseless” and that the additional weight brought by the reinforcements in Rib 27 and those ribs outboard of Rib 8, along with the installed weight of the winglet, are going to be “neutralised” by 440lbs (200kgs) of weight reductions in the A320neo airframe.