EP0273466A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Aircraft
Assignee: Boeing Co
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Filing: 1987-10-23
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-10-23
Abstract
Abstract Airplanes which feature composite construction and have: a further aft than conventional center of gravity; a clean wing with a high aspect ratio; and all primary flight controls. These include trailing edge control segments (or members or elements) which extend the full span of the airplane wing. A central processor so schedules the upward and downward deployment of the control elements that: (1) downward and upward displacements of the control elements are respectively accompanied by pitch-up and pitch-down moments; (2) the inboard control elements are used primarily to change the coefficient of lift whereas roll control is effected principally by displacement of the outboard control elements; and (3) each of the control elements is individually displaced by a system which eliminates hydraulic systems a nd control cables. Hallmarks of these novel airplanes include simplicity, relatively low cost, lower weight, and safety.
Inventors
- 👤 Philip C. Whitener
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 01:47
CPC Classifications
B; B64; B64C; B64C3/00; B64C3/18; B64C3/185; B64C5/00; B64C1/00; B64C2001/0018; B64C2001/0036; B64C2001/0045; B64C2001/0054; B64C2001/0072; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T50/00; Y02T50/10; Y02T50/40
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
55 words
A high efficiency airplane which comprises: a body, wings extending laterally from said body, and a tail at the rear of said body, the center of gravity of said airplane being on a line which passes through a point lying between 44 percent and 70 percent of the mean area chord of the airplane wing.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
55 words
A high efficiency airplane which comprises: a body, wings extending laterally from said body, and a tail at the rear of said body, the center of gravity of said airplane being on a line which passes through a point lying between 44 percent and 70 percent of the mean area chord of the airplane wing.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 1 wherein the aspect ratio of said wing is in the range of 10-14.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 1 which has main landing gear located aft of the airplane wing.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 3 in which said main landing gear are steerable.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 1 which includes propulsion units mounted on the body of the airplane behind the airplane wing.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 5 wherein there are two propulsion units, wherein said propulsion units are located behind said wing and ahead of said tail, and wherein one of said propulsion units is located on each side of the airplane body.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 1 wherein the rearmost section of said airplane body is displaceable to afford access to said cargo bay.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
88 words
A high efficiency airplane which comprises: a body, a wing extending laterally from said body, displaceable control members at the trailing edge of said wing, and a tail at the rear of said body, the center of gravity of said airplane being sufficiently far aft that: (a) operation of said control members which increases the coefficient of lift of the airplane wing and tail produces pitch-up of the airplane, and (b) operation of said control members which reduces that coefficient of lift results in pitch-down of the airplane.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
88 words
A high efficiency airplane which comprises: a body, a wing extending laterally from said body, displaceable control members at the trailing edge of said wing, and a tail at the rear of said body, the center of gravity of said airplane being sufficiently far aft that: (a) operation of said control members which increases the coefficient of lift of the airplane wing and tail produces pitch-up of the airplane, and (b) operation of said control members which reduces that coefficient of lift results in pitch-down of the airplane.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 8 wherein the control members are of continuous segmented construction.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
144 words
A high efficiency airplane which comprises: a body, wings extending laterally from said body, a tail at the rear of aid body, and primary, active control members which are located at the trailing edge of said wing and are pivoted for movement relative to said wing at their forward edges and about an axis extending longitudinally of the wing, there being a series of such control members extending the full span of the wing from the airplane body to the tip of the wing on each side of the airplane body and said airplane further comprising means for so scheduling the deployment of said control members that, when said members are deployed to increase or decrease the coefficient of lift of said wing, each succeeding control member nearer the body of the airplane is deployed to a greater extent than the preceding control member.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
144 words
A high efficiency airplane which comprises: a body, wings extending laterally from said body, a tail at the rear of aid body, and primary, active control members which are located at the trailing edge of said wing and are pivoted for movement relative to said wing at their forward edges and about an axis extending longitudinally of the wing, there being a series of such control members extending the full span of the wing from the airplane body to the tip of the wing on each side of the airplane body and said airplane further comprising means for so scheduling the deployment of said control members that, when said members are deployed to increase or decrease the coefficient of lift of said wing, each succeeding control member nearer the body of the airplane is deployed to a greater extent than the preceding control member.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
33 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 10 wherein the means for deploying said control segments is capable of deflecting said segments both upwardly and downwardly with respect to the airplane wing.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
46 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 10 which has means for effecting a further, scheduled deflection of control members which have not theretofore been deployed to their maximum extent in altering the coefficient of lift in order to control the roll of the airplane.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
66 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 10 wherein the gain of said control segments in the configuration thereof providing a maximum coefficient of lift varies in continuous fashion from one at the segments nearest the airplane body to a small value at the wing tips and in a manner so selected as to optimize the load distribution over the span of the aircraft wing.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
101 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 10 which includes means for controlling the movement of said trailing edge segments as aforesaid, said means comprising a separate electric motor for displacing each of said control members, a central processor for calculating the number of turns required for each of said motors to displace the control member operated thereby in accord with a schedule generated by said central processor in response to a pilot controlled input to said central processor, and a separatecontroller for causing each of said motors to rotate for the number of turns calculated by said central processor.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
27 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 14 which has feedback means operatively connected between each of said trailing edge control segments and said central processor.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
33 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 14 which has feedback means operatively connected between each of said trailing edge control segments and the motor by which said control member is displaced.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
30 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in claim 10 in which the trailing edge control segments are the only control surfaces attached to or otherwise incorporated in the airplane wing.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
48 words
A high efficiency airplane which comprises: a body, wings extending laterally from said body, and a tail at the rear of said body, said wing and said tail being so related that all vertical loads acting on said tail while said airplane is cruising are upwardly directed loads.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
48 words
A high efficiency airplane which comprises: a body, wings extending laterally from said body, and a tail at the rear of said body, said wing and said tail being so related that all vertical loads acting on said tail while said airplane is cruising are upwardly directed loads.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
36 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in any of the preceding claims 1, 8, 10, or 18 in which the airplane body is of a double lobe configuration providing two side-by-side compartments for cargo and/or passengers.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
35 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in any of the preceding claims 1, 8, 10, or 18 in which the envelope of the cross-sectional areas of the airplane is relatively smooth and free sharp peaks.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
24 words
An airplane as defined in any of the preceding claims 1, 8, 10, or 18 which has a unitary, one-piece wing of composite construction.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
21 words
An airplane as defined in claim 21 wherein the composite of which said wing is formed includes wound, graphite filament reinforcements.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
35 words
A high efficiency airplane as defined in any of the preceding claims 1, 8, 10, or 18 in which the airplane wing is located beneath and is fixed to the bottom of the airplane body.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of scheduling the upward and downward movement of the control members of an airplane which has a wing and a series of juxtaposed, hinged, control members at the trailing edge of the wing in which said control members are independently displaced and in which the displacement of said control members is so scheduled that: (a) the inboard control members play the principal role in increasing the positive and negative lift coefficients of the airplane, and (b) the outboard control members play the principal role in controlling the roll of the airplane.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of scheduling the upward and downward movement of the control members of an airplane which has a wing and a series of juxtaposed, hinged, control members at the trailing edge of the wing in which said control members are independently displaced and in which the displacement of said control members is so scheduled that: (a) the inboard control members play the principal role in increasing the positive and negative lift coefficients of the airplane, and (b) the outboard control members play the principal role in controlling the roll of the airplane.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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