B777 vingefolding - Gammel ide dukker opp

Boeing considers wingtips that fold on its next big jet

Passengers on the future 777X may be surprised to see its wingtips unfolding in a design that lets the Boeing jet's immense wingspan fit at airport gates.

Boeing's next big jet may actually spread its wings as it prepares for takeoff.

For the immense wings planned for the 777X, engineers at Boeing are studying a design in which the wingtips fold upward to reduce the jet's span when it sits at the gate or rolls along a taxiway.

Passengers looking out the 777X's window would see each wingtip smoothly unfold to the horizontal as the jet lines up for takeoff on the runway.

Just as the hump on a 747 gives that Boeing jet a distinctive look, the folding wingtips would make the next version of the best-selling, twin-aisle 777 instantly recognizable to the general public.

"There's a coolness factor ... It's sort of a sci-fi-like thing," said a veteran Boeing engineer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to speak publicly on the subject. "But to those in the industry, it's not so surprising."

The engineer emphasized that the precise design of the 777X won't be finalized until around 2014, with possible tweaks to design elements even later.

But he said some kind of foldout wingtip looks almost certain, given the very large wingspan Boeing needs to provide extra fuel efficiency.

Asked about the possibility of folding wingtips, Boeing spokeswoman Karen Crabtree said the company is still "exploring all technologies" and evaluating the trade-offs they involve.

In fact, it isn't a new idea. In 1995, Boeing obtained a patent for a folding wingtip design on the original 777, which had a 200-foot wingspan.

That mechanism was even built and tested - the full-scale model used then is on display at the Museum of Flight Restoration Center at Paine Field in Everett. But no airline ever bought this option.