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Boeing 737-800 - what does "W" mean?


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Hi All,

 

This might be a no-brainer, but here goes. I have a freeware fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft...apparently the Boeing Classic Class: 300...300W...400...400W...500...and 500W. Question is, what does the W designate? All the panels seem identical, but presumably the W must mean something, otherwise why include them?

 

Any info appreciated,

 

Don.

 

 

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I'm not sure I get things right, but whenever I saw that, it was a shortcut for "Winglets". Originally, the 737 came without winglets, even the NG (-600/700/800/900), even if the vast majority of the NGs have winglets now.

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Right. But I don't think Don was referring to the official designations when he was talking about freeware models in a sim, as shown above.

Not sure what the "W" means in the 777-300ER designation as exactly this one does NOT have winglets, but raked wingtips.

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1 hour ago, DeeJay said:

Right. But I don't think Don was referring to the official designations when he was talking about freeware models in a sim, as shown above.

Not sure what the "W" means in the 777-300ER designation as exactly this one does NOT have winglets, but raked wingtips.

"77W" is what the 777-300ER is universally known as, across all airlines. When you see this for Cathay, or ANA, or China Eastern, or American Airlines, etc. etc. etc. that means you're flying on a 777-300ER aircraft.

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Yes, I know. But I was referring to the fact, that it isn't clear - at least to me - why exactly the 777-300ER is called 77W, while for example the 737-700 is called 73G. Maybe they just run out of letters after the 77A and 77E for example. I don't think it generally has to do with the winglets or wingtips itself in the official designations.

 

However, when you look at the world of flight simulation, you often see "w" added to the type in order to distinct the model files from the non-winglet version. Sometimes you also see "wl" here, or "s" or "sl" for Airbusses, especially for planes which are availible in both versions: with and without winglets/sharklets, such as the 737 and the A320 series.

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10 hours ago, DeeJay said:

[...] while for example the 737-700 is called 73G.

 

I guess they thought "737" would be ambiguous, and came up using seventh letter of the alphabet instead.

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Well Guys, thanks for all the replies... especially the more imaginative ones! I've had a look now, selecting each plane then checking the external view. And the W stands for....Winglets!

 

Thanks again,

 

Don.

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