Some of you might be wondering what those pointed pods are at the back of the wings. Some of you might think that those again are for aesthetic purposes only, they are actually not. You call those pointed pods Flap Track Fairings. They house the major components that allow the flaps to move and operate properly.
Some of the components include the jackscrew, carriages, gearboxes, associated mounting bracketry, and other components for the hydraulic actuators. Exposing these would be very un-aerodynamic and this will reduce the performance and efficiency of an aircraft. Hence, the need to cover them with aerodynamic flap fairings. There are some incidents where the flap fairings fell off certain aircraft midflight. It is not much of a concern, just more added drag.
Different shapes
Flap fairings come in different shapes and sizes depending on the aircraft, wings profile, and other small details. Airbus and Boeing have similar designs. Turboprops such as the one pictured above have a different shape.
If you will notice, some flap fairing have painted edges while some don’t. While this is optional for the customer, some decide to paint it to prevent accidents during ground handling situations especially at night.
Not all aircraft though are equipped with flap track fairings, it usually depends on the flap mechanism according to the manufacturer. However, manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing equip the wings of their aircraft with these flap track fairings.
So now you know that those pointed pods on the wings are called flap track fairings. And yes, they do not also house the fuel on board the aircraft.
