Aircraft wing and wing tip device

An aircraft wing comprising:

• a main wing, and
• a wing tip device at a tip of the main wing,
• wherein the wing tip device includes an upper surface and a lower surface each spanning between a leading edge and a trailing edge of the wing tip device;
• wherein the wing tip device has a variation of leading edge droop with respect to unrolled span-wise position such that the leading edge droop of the wing tip device is a maximum in an outboard region of the wing tip device,
• wherein the leading edge droop, at each unrolled span-wise location of the wing tip device, is characterized by a parameter DroopLE defined as an offset at a leading edge point of the unrolled span-wise location between a local chord line extending through the leading edge point and the trailing edge at the unrolled span-wise location, and a reference line at the unrolled span-wise location extending through the trailing edge and through a reference point mid-way between the upper surface and the lower surface at a reference chord-wise position for the wing tip device, and
• wherein a maximum value of the parameter DroopLE for the wing tip device is at least twice a value of the parameter DroopLE at a tip of the wing tip device.

A method of making a wing tip device, for use as part of an aircraft wing, wherein the method comprises:

• making the wing tip device with a variation of leading edge droop with respect to unrolled span-wise position such that flow separation on the wing tip device first occurs in an outboard region of the wing tip device,
• wherein the wing tip device includes an upper surface and a lower surface each spanning between a leading edge and a trailing edge of the wing tip device;
• wherein the leading edge droop, at each unrolled span-wise location of the wing tip device, is characterized by a parameter DroopLE defined as an offset at a leading edge point of the unrolled span-wise location between a local chord line extending through the leading edge point and the trailing edge at the unrolled span-wise location, and a reference line at the unrolled span-wise location extending through the trailing edge and through a reference point mid-way between the upper surface and the lower surface at a reference chord-wise position for the wing tip device, and
• wherein a maximum value of the parameter DroopLE for the wing tip device is at least twice a value of the parameter DroopLE at a tip of the wing tip device.