Yesterday I stumbled upon a very interesting YouTube channel
called “Wintour Pilot” (made by a commercial airline pilot) that covers this and numerous other technical things about commercial aircraft from an airline industry perspective.
His latest explains why much of what the public thinks they know about winglets is wrong, exactly what the technical problem is, and some of the potential solutions. Many aspects to this would not be readily apparent to people outside the airline industry.
If interested, take a look:
“why most commercial jets have “winglets” of various designs on their wing tips.”
The ‘winglets’ have a fun history all of their own.
IIC it was written up in the WSJ some years back?
Looking around , Wiki has an interesting article on winglets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingtip_device
And this:
Active wingtip device
Tamarack Aerospace’s active wingtip device
Tamarack Aerospace Group, a company founded in 2010 by aerospace structural engineer Nicholas Guida, has patented an Active Technology Load Alleviation System (ATLAS), a modified version of a wingtip device.[36] The system uses Tamarack Active Camber Surfaces (TACS) to aerodynamically “switch off” the effects of the wingtip device when the aircraft is experiencing high-g events such as large gusts or severe pull-ups. TACS are movable panels, similar to flaps or ailerons, on the trailing edge of the wing extension.[36][37] The system is controlled by the aircraft’s electrical system and a high-speed servo which is activated when the aircraft senses an oncoming stress event, essentially simulating an actuating wingtip. However, the wingtip itself is fixed and the TACS are the only moving part of the wingtip system. Tamarack first introduced ATLAS for the Cessna Citation family aircraft,[36][37] and it has been certified for use by the Federal Aviation Administration and European Union Aviation Safety Agency.[38][39]