Aviation Partners, Inc. (API) will this week start installing the first set of its high-Mach blended winglets on a Brazilian-registered Dassault Falcon 50. An existing U.S. FAA supplemental type certificate has been approved by Brazil’s ANAC agency. The U.S. company received FAA approval for the modification earlier this year.

The new-design winglets are optimized for higher cruise speeds than the Seattle-based manufacturer’s previous blended winglet design and provide drag reduction along with a corresponding range increase of 5 percent at Mach .80. When optimum long-range speeds are selected, that benefit can increase to more than 7 percent.

In addition to the Falcon 50 series, API provides retrofit winglets for the Falcon 900- and 2000-series business jets, and they are factory installed on the 900LX and the 2000LX/LXS/S models. Currently, more than 300 Dassault Falcon aircraft are flying with API winglets.

“The Falcon program has been by far our most successful business jet winglet program to date,” said Gary Dunn, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing. “This latest STC approval means that Falcon 50 and 50EX operators can now benefit from the same blended winglet technology, and we are already seeing strong interest in the product.”

Dunn is on hand at the show to discuss winglets for the Falcon private jets as well as for the Hawker 800 series. Several of API’s approved installers such as Dassault Aircraft Services and Duncan Aviation are here at the LABACE show with information on installation slot availability.