Aero Fact: Why Winglets Reduce Drag

Winglets mitigate wingtip vortices and reduce induced drag, improving fuel burn.

By AircoreDynamics • October 30, 2025 • 1 min read

Definition: Winglets weaken wingtip vortices, increase effective span, and reduce induced drag.

Physics insight: Lift on a finite wing creates spanwise flow and tip vortices. Winglets reshape the loading and improve non-elliptic distributions to cut induced velocities.

Example: For the same weight, higher effective AR lowers induced velocity required for CL; typical fuel-burn reductions of 1–4% (aircraft and mission dependent).

C_Di = C_L^2 / (π e AR)

→ Increasing Oswald efficiency (e) or AR reduces induced drag.

Rules of thumb: Target favorable load distributions; balance structural weight and root bending moment increases.

Common pitfalls: Poor twist/dihedral can increase tip loading; icing/damage alters performance.

References: Anderson; Liebeck, “Wingtip Devices”