Airfoil construction and method for making the same

Claim 1

AN AIRFOIL STRUCTURE HAVING A FORWARD AND A LATERAL AXIS COMPRISING: A SKIN HAVING AN AIRFOIL CONTOUR, A GRID OF AREAS OF A FIRST THICKNESS AND A PLURALITY OF RECESSES IN A SURFACE THEREOF DISPOSED WITHIN THE GRIDS WHERE THE SKIN IS OF LESSER THICKNESS; A FRONT SPAR COMPRISING A CENTRAL SHEAR WEB, AND A PAIR OF INTEGRAL FLANGES ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE WEB, THESE FLANGES BEING DIRECTED REARWARDLY ALONG SAID FORWARD AXIS; A REAR SPAR COMPRISING A CENTRAL SHEAR WEB AND A PAIR OF INTEGRAL FLANGES, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE WEB, SAID SPARS BEING SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER ALONG THE FORWARD AXIS, AND BEING ATTACHED TO THE SKIN AT PORTIONS OF THE SAID GRID; A PLURALITY OF FORWARDLY-EXTENDING LEADING EDGE FORMERS DISPOSED FORWARD OF THE FORWARD SPAR AND FASTENED TO THE SKIN AT PORTIONS OF SAID GRID; EACH OF SAID FORMERS HAVING LATERAL PERIPHERIES AT LEAST PORTIONS OF WHICH SUPPORT THE SKIN IN ITS CONTOUR; A PLURALITY OF FORWARDLY-EXTENDING TRAILING EDGE FORMERS DISPOSED BETWEEN THE SPARS, SAID TRAILING EDGE FORMERS HAVING WEBS AND FLANGES WHICH ARE ATTACHED TO THE SKIN AT PORTIONS OF THE GRIDS TO SUPPORT THE SKIN IN ITS CONTOUR, THE SKIN FORMING THE TOP, BOTTOM AND LEADING EDGE OF THE AIRFOIL BEING FORMED FROM A SINGLE, CONTINUOUS SHEET OF SKIN, THE TRAILING EDGES THEREOF BEING JOINED BY THE REAR SPAR.