FACC Wichita performs 1000th split scimitar winglet modification

 

 

A year after the plant expansion to its Wichita, Kan., U.S. facility, FACC (Innkreis, Austria) announces that its Kansas-based FACC Solutions subsidiary has modified its 1,000th shipset of split scimitar winglets, which the company will deliver to Southwest Airlines for the upgrade of a Boeing 737NG.

The project, introduced at FACC in 2014, aimed at converting blended winglets into split scimitar winglets on Boeing 737 aircraft. To date, FACC Austria and FACC Wichita have supplied almost 1,500 total split scimitar winglet systems for the worldwide retrofitting of Boeing 737NG aircraft.

“We have been operating globally ever since FACC was first founded, and we collaborate with the most innovative companies in the aerospace industry,” says Robert Machtlinger, CEO. “The plant location in the USA not only affords us a worldwide presence and customer proximity, but also offers high-quality support services in the Aftermarket Services segment. This enables us to enter the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) sector of the American market in the best possible way.”

“The entire Wichita team is delighted to share this significant milestone with our colleagues in Austria as well as our long-term partner and customer, Aviation Partners Boeing. Over the course of these five years, we have honed our knowledge and skills to provide best in class turnaround time and exceptional cost performance. We look forward to the next 1,000,” says Dean Poor, president of FACC Solutions Inc.

The split scimitar winglet is an advanced winglet system in which a ventral fin is mounted underneath the existing blended winglet. According to FACC, the split scimitar winglet modification reduces Boeing Next-Generation 737 block fuel consumption by up to an additional 2.2% over blended winglets, leading to reduction in CO₂ emissions. In cooperation with Aviation Partners Boeing, FACC has so far supplied a total of 6,500 blended and split scimitar winglet systems for aircraft retrofits, which the company says has reduced the fuel consumption of Boeing 737 fleets worldwide by more than 10 billion gallons, or approximately 37 billion liters, over the past 15 years, preventing 105 million tons of CO₂ emissions.

“Airlines are always on the lookout for innovative ways to make flying greener. With the two winglet systems developed by Aviation Partners Boeing and supplied by FACC in Austria and the USA, we are helping airlines to both increase the sustainability and efficiency of their fleets and to cut operating costs,” says Christian Mundigler, VP of FACC Aftermarket Services.

FACC says it can convert a Boeing 737 blended winglet into a split scimitar winglet, including application of aircraft livery, in 10 days, thanks to its Wichita location, which was set up in 2014. In 2018, the total plant area was increased to 5,600 square meters.