DCA Plane Spotting

 DCA Plane Spotting

From Aviation Week & Space Technology; June 9, 2014 issue:

“Inventor of the blended winglets flying on more than 6,000 business jets and Boeing airliners, aerodynamicist Louis “Bernie” Gratzer, 93, died on May 31. He was a senior vice president at Aviation Partners, which he joined after a career at Boeing, where he was a major contributor to the aerodynamic design of the KC-135, 707 and 727. Gratzer’s first blended winglets reduced drag on the Gulfstream II by up to 7.3%, but it was the design of winglets for Boeing’s 737NG, reducing fuel burn by 4-5%, that led to forming Aviation Partners Boeing (APB). Now almost all 737s leave the factory with APB winglets. They have been retrofitted to many 757s and 767s, and Gratzer’s Split Scimitar winglets are being fitted to 737s for another 1.9% of savings.”