Wings are an essential part of an airplane. All airplanes have wings. As flight control surfaces, wings are responsible for production lift, which keeps airplanes in the air. Most airplanes, however. don’t have flat wings. When inspecting the ends of an airplane’s wings, you’ll probably notice they are angled. This post explores six of the most common types of wingtips.
#1) Raked
Some airplanes have raked wingtips. Raked wingtips live up to their namesake by featuring a “raked” shape. In other words, they curve backward. Many airplanes, including the Boeing 787, feature raked wingtips.
#2) Squared-Off
There are squared-off wingtips. Squared-off wingtips don’t come to a sharp point. Rather, they are square at the end. Most squared-off wingtips are raised. As shown in the adjacent photo, squared-off wingtips rise slightly above the rest of the airplane’s wings.
#3) Blended
Another common type of wingtip is blended. Blended wingtips are characterized by their seamless transition with the wings with which they are used. They don’t have a sharp transition. Blended wingtips have a smooth transition that gently curves away from the wings. They are essentially blended into the wings. Blended wingtips have become increasingly popular, and you can find them on dozens of different commercial airplanes.
#4) Rounded
Some airplanes have rounded wingtips. Rounded wingtips, of course, are rounded at the end. They don’t come to a sharp point, nor are they shaped like a square. Rounded wingtips are characterized by a round shape. They are smooth with a slight round curvature.
#5) Hoerner
We can’t talk about the most common types of wingtips without mentioning hoerner. Named after Dr. Sighard F. Hoerner, they feature a drooped design. Hoerner wingtips, in fact, are also known as drooped wingtips. Rather than curving up at the end, they curve down. This drooped design is what distinguished hoerner wingtips from all other types of wingtips. Hoerner is the only type of wingtip that featured a drooped design.
#6) Canted
Finally, there are canted wingtips. The term “changed” refers to an angle in which one side of an object is slated Canted wingtips follow this same definition. They are slated away from the wings with which they are used. You can find canted wingtips on some of the world’s most popular airplanes, including the Boeing 747 as well as the 747-700. It’s believed that the use of canted wingtips increased the range of the Boeing 747-400 by over 3%.
