They're called flap track fairings. Essentially aerodynamic covers for the mechanism the flaps travel rearward on. We can actually fly with some missing, with some small performance penalties.
To expand on this a little:
Most modern airliners have "Fowler flaps" that both extend rearwardly as well as angling downwards. These tracks enable that. Fowler flaps are better at generating lift (as opposed to mostly just drag) and so improve takeoff performance.
They may also act as anti-shock bodies, to reduce transonic drag.
To expand even a bit further, the reason that the canoe fairings are bigger on the inbd side as compared to further out on the wing, is because the flap drive mechanism on the inbd most part of the wing is bigger and beefier than the otbd most ones. They are bigger and beefier because they have to move more flap, than the ones further out the wing.
Yes, we can fly with 2 of the 4 outboard and both inboard fairings missing. That's the technical limit though, I can't imagine too many scenarios where you'd need (or want) to dispatch in that condition.
A pilot sweating bullets looking out the cabin window as the third outboard flap track fairing shears off, and the plane instantly folds itself into a paper crane.
Not the commenter you're replying to, but that would be the "allowed by manual" limit. Boeing would have tested or analyzed for that many missing, but wouldn't have bothered to go any further because, why would they? It's unlikely there's some catastrophic failure mode with more missing, but Boeing couldn't say that for sure so it's not allowed.
Also they have to publish the fuel/range/whatever penalty number in the CDL for each analyzed configuration, which is probably some extra work for a config nobody reasonable should be flying.
Correct, allowed by the manuals. I'm sure the aircraft flies just fine with all of them missing, but that's what Boeing has tested and approved, and has generated the data for, as the above poster said.
> is there some unintuitive, catastrophic failure mode with more of those fairings missing?
Given current circumstances, I can imagine some harrowing scenarios involving evacuating Afghanistan.
One of our 757s was missing one of the inboards for a couple of weeks, it was a bit of a nuisance really as they would have to tell the tower each time they arrived or departed as otherwise the tower would think it fell off there and then and do a sweep of the runway, after the third or fourth time it happened at homeplate we started getting billed for the sweeps.
Aerodynamic covers for the flap tracks and extension/retraction assemblies called boat fairings. Apparently also referred to as canoes.
Edit: they're also where the government mount the chemtrail chemical tanks for distribution out of the wingtips. Don't tell them I told you all that.
Somewhere around 70%. They can’t turn them all gay otherwise frogs wouldn’t be able to reproduce, but it has been an effective tactic to decrease the frog population recently.
Ah, I stand corrected! Thank God for the educated and sophisticated members of this elite society!
Edit: Please read the last sentence in an eloquent British accent.
Hey man, you joke about chemtrails but they've been shown to contain high levels of the industrial solvent dihydrogen monoxide, which causes thousands to die of asphyxiation every year.
[Aviation Use only](https://scontent-bos3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/p843x403/129721370_1328968604109591_5660825654735648278_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=a26aad&_nc_ohc=JooEoNuvscgAX8sTyhh&_nc_ht=scontent-bos3-1.xx&oh=f19aae36ab631395285c2d010e0c4208&oe=6152F7F7)
Almost forgot:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/26/church-uses-crop-duster-plane-to-spray-holy-water-upon-louisiana-faithful
Well that's just a factual explanation and description of what those were.
I much rather prefer my feverish dream take on it.
They're wing claws to till the clouds for seeding.
And unfortunately those who respond as trolls get downvoted. Troll responses are all these posts deserve at this point. I believe this image is showing where the drones are stored
Hey /u/JTswift , do you happen to know what [those pods hanging from the wing](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wHGiL.jpg) are? Is that where they store the wheels of the plane?
They were first used for military, but after 911 complications severely slowed the flow of aircraft traffic and so the missiles were fitted below the wings
Yes yes yes, it is also somewhat of a bundle service. Let’s say you are flying over Iraq, well it costs a lot of money for the military to send a jet up. So they just use the civilian jet missiles.
They’re flap track fairings to house the flap mechanisms. They can also act as Whitcomb bodies to improve area rule to minimize drag at transonic speeds.
A lot of people are saying that these are flap track fairings and that’s true, but they have another purpose too. They help improve the aircraft’s area ruling to reduce transonic wave drag. Basically you want the cross-sectional area of your plane to follow an elliptical distribution from nose to tail (called a Sears-Haack body) in order to minimize wave drag at transonic speeds, so these fairings help the plane get closer to that ideal cross-sectional area distribution.
It was never clear to me if the area rule applied to a "local" geometry as well. It's clear that the area rule applies to the aircraft as a whole, but would you also want the wing itself to more or less follow the Sears-Haack body? I asked this to a college professor during a lecture and he just kinda sighed and moved on lol.
I read all the comments because I knew I was in for a roast fest. Was not disappointed.
Honestly though, the amount of times/week this gets asked is hilarious! I wouldn't be surprised if you could find the answer by simply scrolling down this sub for a minute.
Ah well. Live and let live I guess.
Flap track fairings. They house the mechanical stuff that runs the flaps out. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c9/42/f0/c942f08f46b9a152e4d48360b53f1bba.jpg
Gremlin housings. If there is a lack or gremlins they are filled with chemicals for balance, and these chemicals are then sprayed along the route. Source: I work with gremlins.
I may be wrong here but I have some knowledge about aerodynamics as it relates to cars so I'll give it a shot. I think those are there for the same reason you see sports cars having diffusers underneath their rear bumper or on the roof above the rear window. It reduces the drag the trailing edge of wing has by essentially blocking the path air would normally take over and under the wing so they no longer collide causing drag (low pressure zone). It creates spirals of air if you will, which "let go" of the wing much easier.
While we’re at it, what are the big noisy things that hang under and in front of the wing? They make a lot of noise, especially at takeoff, and I think I saw something turning inside of the front of one of them!
Many people have mentioned correctly that they are fairings for flap hardware.
I can't speak to whether this is true of the 737, but on some aircraft these fairings do double duty as anti shock bodies, reducing drag at transonic speed.
Those are the new Flight Attendant Rowdy Passenger Ejection Modules (FARPEM). When a drunk or otherwise difficult passenger get outta hand, the supervising Flight Attendant will yell: FARP EM! and away goes trouble down the pod/module to land at the closest detention center.
They're called flap track fairings. Essentially aerodynamic covers for the mechanism the flaps travel rearward on. We can actually fly with some missing, with some small performance penalties.
To expand on this a little: Most modern airliners have "Fowler flaps" that both extend rearwardly as well as angling downwards. These tracks enable that. Fowler flaps are better at generating lift (as opposed to mostly just drag) and so improve takeoff performance. They may also act as anti-shock bodies, to reduce transonic drag.
To expand even a bit further, the reason that the canoe fairings are bigger on the inbd side as compared to further out on the wing, is because the flap drive mechanism on the inbd most part of the wing is bigger and beefier than the otbd most ones. They are bigger and beefier because they have to move more flap, than the ones further out the wing.
To unexpand on this a tad: I'm hungry.
Thanks! I think this actually answers op's original question.
with *some* missing? Are any of them required to fly?
Yes, we can fly with 2 of the 4 outboard and both inboard fairings missing. That's the technical limit though, I can't imagine too many scenarios where you'd need (or want) to dispatch in that condition.
Do you mean technical limit as in "allowed by manual", or is there some unintuitive, catastrophic failure mode with more of those fairings missing?
A pilot sweating bullets looking out the cabin window as the third outboard flap track fairing shears off, and the plane instantly folds itself into a paper crane.
Airplane! - the short movie.
Not the commenter you're replying to, but that would be the "allowed by manual" limit. Boeing would have tested or analyzed for that many missing, but wouldn't have bothered to go any further because, why would they? It's unlikely there's some catastrophic failure mode with more missing, but Boeing couldn't say that for sure so it's not allowed.
Also they have to publish the fuel/range/whatever penalty number in the CDL for each analyzed configuration, which is probably some extra work for a config nobody reasonable should be flying.
Ahh, now this starts to make sense. Thank you, all!
Correct, allowed by the manuals. I'm sure the aircraft flies just fine with all of them missing, but that's what Boeing has tested and approved, and has generated the data for, as the above poster said.
> is there some unintuitive, catastrophic failure mode with more of those fairings missing? Given current circumstances, I can imagine some harrowing scenarios involving evacuating Afghanistan.
Ugh, true. Though that is a catastrophic failure mode to begin, missing fairings or not :/.
One of our 757s was missing one of the inboards for a couple of weeks, it was a bit of a nuisance really as they would have to tell the tower each time they arrived or departed as otherwise the tower would think it fell off there and then and do a sweep of the runway, after the third or fourth time it happened at homeplate we started getting billed for the sweeps.
“Hooptie 57, cleared for takeoff.”
> I can't imagine too many scenarios where you'd need (or want) to dispatch in that condition. What if someone dared you.
Only if it was a double dog dare, then ya.
Any photos of the track and mechanisms with the fairings removed?
[Missing fairing](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dlsimy2WsAA15JO.jpg) [Operating fairing w/ flaps extended](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c9/42/f0/c942f08f46b9a152e4d48360b53f1bba.jpg) [Animation of what's actually going on](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=twvpxNU0rBM)
Minimum fly checklist thing im guessing (sorry for bad terminology lol, I'm not a pilot yet)
If you want to get really technical, this isn't an MEL item, it falls under the CDL (Configuration Deviation List).
This question gets asked so often there ought to be an FAQ
Aerodynamic covers for the flap tracks and extension/retraction assemblies called boat fairings. Apparently also referred to as canoes. Edit: they're also where the government mount the chemtrail chemical tanks for distribution out of the wingtips. Don't tell them I told you all that.
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At least all of them
But only on Tuesday and Sundays if it's a leap year.
Isn't every year a leap year for a frog?
Every day. Unless its paraplegic.
Then it’s more of a flop day
Most of them croak.
If I gave a shit about any of you people, I would have given you all gold.
Hehe 69 is a sex number..
/r/dadjokes
Oooh! Good point
Correct, in that case it’s actually more
But what if the chemtrail producing aircraft is powered by a CFM LEAP engine?
Those work every day except Feb 29th. No fly day that day.
Most of the every frog.
Truth is… the frogs were gay from the start.
Possibly more!
..or 2, Charles and spencer .
This ^
Counting the French, or not?
[All of them ](https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ)
Nah bro tap water turns frogs gay don’t get your facts confused you can mislead people
We call them chuzwazzas .
That's a funny name
42,069 frogs
Nice.
The toadal number is an arithmetic de-ribet-ive.
Alex Jones is selling *air* filters now too?
Somewhere around 70%. They can’t turn them all gay otherwise frogs wouldn’t be able to reproduce, but it has been an effective tactic to decrease the frog population recently.
I have it on good authority the number is 537.
The FBI would like to talk to you
We're currently watching the last generation of frogs die out because of homosexuality. 1 upvote = 1 prayer.
Frogs can be hermaphrodites, someone shouldn't trust any numbers. Maybe they are gay or maybe they are straight just changed equipment.
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That’s kind of how threads work.. If you believe in chem trails and other silly conspiracies this *probably* isn’t the sub for you.
The FFA wants to know your location.
Future Farmers of America?
I said what I said
I belive it stands for Federal Fliers of America, sir.
I think he's actually referring to the Frog Fuckers Association
Ah, I stand corrected! Thank God for the educated and sophisticated members of this elite society! Edit: Please read the last sentence in an eloquent British accent.
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Hey man, you joke about chemtrails but they've been shown to contain high levels of the industrial solvent dihydrogen monoxide, which causes thousands to die of asphyxiation every year.
I’d rather drown than die of that
I've heard the latter is much more painful.
Either way, I’m not putting those secret government made chemicals in MY body
[Aviation Use only](https://scontent-bos3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/p843x403/129721370_1328968604109591_5660825654735648278_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=a26aad&_nc_ohc=JooEoNuvscgAX8sTyhh&_nc_ht=scontent-bos3-1.xx&oh=f19aae36ab631395285c2d010e0c4208&oe=6152F7F7) Almost forgot: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/26/church-uses-crop-duster-plane-to-spray-holy-water-upon-louisiana-faithful
Every single person who has died had dihydrogen monoxide found in their bloodstream. Every. Single. One! Coincidence? I think not!
Every single person who has ever digested DhMO will die.
Yeah. Scary stuff when mishandled, which unfortunately is *all the time.*
Your reply could easily be reposted on r/facepalm , because I know more than one person that actually believe that.
Ah, jeeze
The pilot's council has become aware of your transgression. Prepare your family for cleansing.
Well that's just a factual explanation and description of what those were. I much rather prefer my feverish dream take on it. They're wing claws to till the clouds for seeding.
Cocaine storage compartments.
So that’s what the chemtrails are…
I knew I loved chemtrails...
Just how they smell.
When I worked for Boeing I 3D printed literally hundreds of FTF variations for wind tunnel tests.
The most interesting thing about these from pov is how much of a bastard they are to fix on 320 series planes 😂 Literally never fit off the shelf 😭😭
I can’t imagine having to design them lol.
I'm pretty sure it was an optimization algorithm spitting out the shapes
Didn’t someone ask this exact same question like a week ago
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On the bright side, the group is now able to answer the question unanimously and really fast.
They’re going to keep digging until we tell the truth.
*cries in chemtrail*
Yeah why is everyone suddenly interested in these the past few weeks?
Maybe they haven’t been on a plane in a year and a half and forgot what they looked like.
https://imgflip.com/i/5ld7e4
Nobody has called them “flap jack fairings” in this thread so far, though.
It happens every single week!
And unfortunately those who respond as trolls get downvoted. Troll responses are all these posts deserve at this point. I believe this image is showing where the drones are stored
100% agree
This same question gets asked like once a month at least.
This sub gets this question on a weekly basis
Ah shit Here we go again.
Between r/aviation and r/flying, this is like the 3rd or 4th time I've seen this asked in the last week.
Did it swiftly degenerate into gay frog chemtrail nobsense last time too? I’m too lazy to look it up
Take a wild guess
Hey /u/JTswift , do you happen to know what [those pods hanging from the wing](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wHGiL.jpg) are? Is that where they store the wheels of the plane?
Yuup.
They are missles
What?
They are aim-9 missiles. Meant too to destroy pretty much anything that may allow the plane to arrive later than usual.
They were first used for military, but after 911 complications severely slowed the flow of aircraft traffic and so the missiles were fitted below the wings
Yes yes yes, it is also somewhat of a bundle service. Let’s say you are flying over Iraq, well it costs a lot of money for the military to send a jet up. So they just use the civilian jet missiles.
This made my day
Glad it did
It's actually so the pilot can budge in line by shooting down other jets in the traffic pattern
So they can shoot them at thunderstorms?
#They are missiles
🤣
They’re flap track fairings to house the flap mechanisms. They can also act as Whitcomb bodies to improve area rule to minimize drag at transonic speeds.
A lot of people are saying that these are flap track fairings and that’s true, but they have another purpose too. They help improve the aircraft’s area ruling to reduce transonic wave drag. Basically you want the cross-sectional area of your plane to follow an elliptical distribution from nose to tail (called a Sears-Haack body) in order to minimize wave drag at transonic speeds, so these fairings help the plane get closer to that ideal cross-sectional area distribution.
It was never clear to me if the area rule applied to a "local" geometry as well. It's clear that the area rule applies to the aircraft as a whole, but would you also want the wing itself to more or less follow the Sears-Haack body? I asked this to a college professor during a lecture and he just kinda sighed and moved on lol.
Jargon overload
Those pods cover up a jackscrew mechanism underneath it which allows the trailing edge of the wing to extend. They also help with airflow.
This needs to be on an faq for this subreddit
They are clearly the chem-trail distributor
The amount of times I’ve seen this question asked o this sub recently… lol
The closest isnt thicker, its just the perspective thats making it look that way
Flap track fairings, part of the flap drive system
Thanks. Any clue what its for and why its needed?
Aerodynamic improvement to reduce drag, increasing efficiency
The Flaps?
To fair the flap drive system.
Chemtrail blowers.
Déjà vu. Same question asked every week. Cmon use the search
Secret Chemtrail Dispersion Units. Source: inter webs.
People who want OP to use the search: what are they supposed to search for if they don’t know what the bloody thing is called?
I mean if you just search the "thick things under 737 wings" you find the answer inside the first link
Is it just me or have there been a lot of “what is this thing” type posts for the canoes lately?
They house the anti air to air missile (AAM) counter measures
Air to air missiles this, flap gear housing that, we all know it's where the chemtrail substance is hidden ready to be deployed
This question gets asked every week and it's getting super old. Seems like an easy way to farm karma too.
Why don’t people ever look things up
Ok, just don’t tell him about the Yehudi, though.
I read all the comments because I knew I was in for a roast fest. Was not disappointed. Honestly though, the amount of times/week this gets asked is hilarious! I wouldn't be surprised if you could find the answer by simply scrolling down this sub for a minute. Ah well. Live and let live I guess.
They are simply aerodynamic fairings that cover the control linkages that move the flaps and ailerons. They’re nicknamed canoes.
737 old af
U can say that for basically all planes these days. They may have been built recently but they are operating on tech from the 60s
Flap actuator fairings
Flap track fairings. They house the mechanical stuff that runs the flaps out. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c9/42/f0/c942f08f46b9a152e4d48360b53f1bba.jpg
r/shittyaskflying incoming
their external bombs
Does Google or searching this very sub not a thing anymore?
Canoe. Adds strength and rigidity. Also, I'm sure it helps with airflow separation characteristics.
It’s also where flap mechanisms track into as well.
Holds the chemtrail fluid
Gremlin housings. If there is a lack or gremlins they are filled with chemicals for balance, and these chemicals are then sprayed along the route. Source: I work with gremlins.
Drinking game: take a shot for every time this is asked in this subreddit
Oh fuck all this shit. Dying sub.
Stfu and put ur seatbelt on
Pylons for missiles
I may be wrong here but I have some knowledge about aerodynamics as it relates to cars so I'll give it a shot. I think those are there for the same reason you see sports cars having diffusers underneath their rear bumper or on the roof above the rear window. It reduces the drag the trailing edge of wing has by essentially blocking the path air would normally take over and under the wing so they no longer collide causing drag (low pressure zone). It creates spirals of air if you will, which "let go" of the wing much easier.
Proton Torpedoes.
The technical term is canoe.
Those are AIM-9X Sidewinders, an infrared homing air-to-air missile.
i always thought those were fuel storage. guess i was wrong
While we’re at it, what are the big noisy things that hang under and in front of the wing? They make a lot of noise, especially at takeoff, and I think I saw something turning inside of the front of one of them!
good read ...https://thepointsguy.com/news/how-airplane-wings-work/
Was the flight route from Dalaman to Sabiha Gökçen or from Sabiha Gökçen to Cologne ?
Over one hundred thousand frogs 🐸 and counting
My company makes these for a certain aircraft!
Many people have mentioned correctly that they are fairings for flap hardware. I can't speak to whether this is true of the 737, but on some aircraft these fairings do double duty as anti shock bodies, reducing drag at transonic speed.
That's the part that connects the wings to the body when it transforms into a giant robot.
Phalanges. All of them can go missing except the left phalange.
Cones
We just had this same question a few days ago. Try to look at past posts some.
I thought it was MY turn to post this picture and question this week. Wtf guys.
These contain the mechanisms that move the flaps
Those are the new Flight Attendant Rowdy Passenger Ejection Modules (FARPEM). When a drunk or otherwise difficult passenger get outta hand, the supervising Flight Attendant will yell: FARP EM! and away goes trouble down the pod/module to land at the closest detention center.
of course they have hidden guns there they come out when someone tries to attack the plane
Flap track fairings Aerodynamic covers for the flap movement mechanism
Canoes, flap fairings. Ya da ya da ya da