The FAA has certified the folding wingtips that Boeing has installed on its Boeing 777X, the latest iteration of its long-haul stalwart. The new aircraft has longer wings than current models, allowing higher, faster and more fuel-efficient operation, but that means they won’t fit well into a lot of airport gates. Chopping about 15 feet off the wingspan by borrowing a long-accepted design feature of carrier-borne aircraft was a simple solution but these aren’t military aircraft so the FAA needed some safety assurances.
The mechanism itself is a straightforward hinge arrangement with stout locking pins to keep the tips in place in flight. What the FAA needed was redundant systems to prevent pilots from folding up the tips in flight or trying to take off with them in the up position. It’s not clear how much the extra technology is adding to the cost of each aircraft but it doesn’t seem to be slowing sales. Boeing has firm orders for more than 300 from at least eight airlines.
