by 
Tomyboy
ANSWERS: 5
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It helps keep the air flow on the wing itself, helping manage lift and in turn also minimizes the amount of wingtip vortices. You may also noitice "fins" on the upper side of a wing, extending from the leading edge to trailing edge. Those are wing fences that accomplish somewhat the same thing.
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there are theories out there. I think it looks cool. If it were so monumental in the control, lift or ease of flying. Wouldn't all newer planes incorporate it?
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So the air Doesn't "leak" around the edge of the wingtip rather than provide lift, as the pictures demonstrate (sorry for the bad art, hope the pics are still helpfull though). Now this doesn't mean they make such a big difference that the plane wouldn't fly without them, but just big enough so that planes can get the same amount of lift on a smaller wing and lower angle of attack and therefore reduce drag and save fuel. (click the pictures to see the whole thing)
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That is called winglets. They make the plane be more efficient, so as to spare fuel, and they can spare about 5% of the fuel.
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Thanks, Kevin. Your answer is excellent.
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