Aviation Partners Falcon 50 Winglets Approved by FAA

Aviation Partners’ high-Mach blended winglets on the Falcon 50 series were STC’d by the FAA on Tuesday. EASA approval is pending, the company said. The FAA certification is the culmination of an 18-month development and flight-test program, and comes on the heels of its similar winglet approvals for the Falcon 900 and 2000 series. Aviation Partners claims its Falcon 50 winglets provide a drag reduction, and corresponding range increase, of 5 percent at Mach 0.80 and more than 7 percent at long-range cruise.