Rotatable wing tip joint and method of making same

An aircraft comprising:

• at least one wing comprising a wing base and a wing tip;
• a linking member that extends from a first end to a second end, said linking member comprises a curved surface between said first and second ends, said linking member first end is coupled to said wing base, said linking member second end is coupled to said wing tip, said linking member defines a first hinge line and a second hinge line, said first hinge line and said second hinge line are substantially parallel;
• and
• at least two actuators, a first end of each of said actuators is coupled to said linking member, a second end of a first actuator of said two actuators is coupled to one of the wing base and the wing tip and a second end of a second actuator of said two actuators is coupled to the other one of the wing base and the wing tip, said actuators are operable to rotate said wing tip about said first and second hinge lines between a first orientation and a second orientation relative to said wing base, wherein said curved surface is positioned proximate an inner radius between said wing base and said wing tip in the second orientation.

A method of coupling a wing tip and a wing base, said method comprising:

• coupling a first end of a linking member to the wing base;
• coupling a second end of the linking member to the wing tip, wherein the linking member defines a first hinge line and a second hinge line, said linking member has a fixed length extending between the wing tip and the wing base, and the first hinge line and the second hinge line are substantially parallel;
• coupling a first end of each of at least two actuators to the linking member;
• and
• coupling a second end of a first actuator of said two actuators to one of the wing base and the wing tip and coupling a second end of a second actuator of said two actuators to the other one of the wing base and the wing tip, wherein the actuators are operable to rotate the wing tip about the first and second hinge lines between a first orientation and a second orientation relative to the wing base.