[Little Pig]

And that's why these things can't fly in nicely-organized formations. They produce staggering amounts of wake turbulence.


I have to wonder: if the turbulence is so bad, doesn't it mean this thing is working awful hard to push itself through the air (i.e. it's not an efficient design)?

[RightWhale]

if the turbulence is so bad, doesn't it mean this thing is working awful hard to push itself through the air (i.e. it's not an efficient design)?

Sort of, but the design is good. The vortices happen after the aircraft is past. It is of little importance what contortions the air goes through as it rebounds from bearing the weight of the aircraft, except for other things that might want to use the same air before it settles down.

[beelzepug]

The purpose of the winglets is, in part, to help reduce these wake vortices. I wonder what that wake would look like without them?

[Palmetto]

I have to wonder: if the turbulence is so bad, doesn't it mean this thing is working awful hard to push itself through the air (i.e. it's not an efficient design)?

To create lift, a wing must have a lower pressure on the top surface versus the botttom surface. Where the top and bottom surfaces meet on the wing tip, this difference in pressure is reconciled and creates vortices.

It is simply the consequence of a great wing design creating a LOT of lift for this very heavy plane.