L-39 and Drag

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Aircraft performance has a lot to do with weight but drag also affects performance and efficiency.  The goal with the UltimateL39 was to clean up the exterior without sacrificing functionality.  Antennas were internalized where possible.  The tip tanks were replaced with low profile wing tips.  Tip tanks are used primarily to increase loiter time on target and, although a little helpful, do not dramatically increase cruise endurance.  You literally gain back almost as much from drag reduction by removing the tanks as you get from the fifty gallons of fuel having them.  In a rather extreme effort, the dual wing mounted pitot/static booms were replaced with a single nose mounted unit.  Although not likely responsible for huge gains, these changes have helped.

The single nose mounted Pitot/Static	Stubby carbon wing caps for light weight and low drag
This shot shows how the leading edge cuff was retained into the wing tip to ensure we kept the docile stall qualities of the L39