Tamarack aerospace of the USA, designer and manufacturer of some highly innovative winglets for the Citation CJ series, received certification by both the FAA and EASA in April 2018 for its winglet systems to be installed on the Citation CJ2 and CJ2+. This now gives Tamarack dual FAA/EASA certification on the CJ, CJ1, CJ1+, M2, CJ, CJ2+, CJ3 and CJ3+ series of aircraft.
The promised improvements are impressive. 20% lower fuel burns and 20% longer range are reported by the company throughout the line. We spoke with one happy owner who said it was a true game changer for his CJ, and said that the promised performance improvements were accurate. Range, especially at higher passenger numbers, has often been cited as the biggest complaint with the CJ series. Some of the most popular city pairs are often just over the range of the CJ series, causing frequent fuel stops. The Tamarack winglets help to solve this common complaint with the Citations.
Importantly, Tamarack has partnered with Cessna to allow the installation as a Service Bulletin and therefore with Cessna’s full blessing. This is a rare and highly beneficial commitment from an OEM to improve their pre-owned products. Often times, OEMs are loathe to allow airframe modifications for fear it will reduce demand for new planes that solve the previous aircrafts’ shortcomings. Here, Cessna seems to have realized that happy customers buy more new planes than unhappy ones. Hopefully, in the long run we will see the incorporation of the winglets as part of the OEM offering on all its new aircraft, much as Raisbeck improvements are incorporated into certain King Airs during production.
While the direct fuel savings would take a number of years to pay back the cost of the installations, installing the winglets is, by far, the cheapest way to get more functionality. Traditionally, the only way to get more range was to buy a bigger plane. Installing winglets gives a much more cost effective solution to get more range. Importantly, it takes far less time. Tamarack quotes installation times from as little as 7 days to 2 weeks.
No doubt, Tamarack has plans to convert more aircraft in the future. We look forward to seeing what other aircraft will be improved. Anything that makes aviation more usable, cost effective and functional is to be applauded.
