Lightweight thrust reverser

Claim 1

AN AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: AN AIRFRAME INCLUDING A FUSELAGE AND A TAIL SECTION; A PAIR OF PROPULSION UNITS OF THE FAN TYPE MOUNTED ON SAID FUSELAGE UPSTREAM OF SAID TAIL SECTION, SAID UNITS SYMMETRICALLY LOCATED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID FUSELAGE IN A COMMON HORIZONTAL PLANE, AND A PAIR OF LIGHWEIGHT THRUST REVERSING MEANS EACH ASSOCIATED WITH A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID PROPULSION UNITS FOR DEFLECTING A STREAM OF RELATIVELY LOW TEMPERATURE AND LOW PRESSURE MOTIVE FLUID DISCHARGED BY THE PROPULSION UNIT, EACH OF SAID LIGHTWEIGHT THRUST REVERSING MEANS COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID PANEL COVERING A RECESS FORMED IN SAID FUSELAGE ADJACENT THE PROPULSION UNIT TO FORM WITH SAID FUSELAGE A CONTINUOUS UNINTERRUPTED AERODYNAMIC SURFACE, MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE DOWNSTREAM END OF SAID RIGID PANEL TO SAID FUSELAGE, ACTUATING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FUSELAGE AND TO SAID RIGID PANEL FOR PIVOTING SAID PANEL OUTWARDLY FROM SAID FUSELAGE TO AN EXTENDED POSITION EXTENDING ACROSS THE NORMAL PATH OF AN UNOBSTRUCTED FLUID STREAM DISCHARGED FROM THE PROPULSION UNIT, A FLEXIBLE PANEL CONNECTED TO SAID FUSELAGE AND TO THE UPSTREAM END OF SAID RIGID PANEL, SAID FLEXIBLE PANEL FORMING A SMOOTHLY CURVED WALL WHEN SAID RIGID PANEL IS IN SAID EXTENDED POSITION AND A STREAM OF MOTIVE FLUID IS BEING DISCHARGED BY THE PROPULSION UNIT TO IMPINGE ON SAID FLEXIBLE PANEL, THE SMOOTHLY CURVED WALL DEFLECTING THE STREAM OF MOTIVE FLUID FROM THE NORMAL REARWARD DIRECTION TO A DEFLECTED DIRECTION HAVING A SUBSTANTIAL FORWARD COMPARTMENT TO THEREBY PRODUCE REVERSE THRUST ON THE AIRCRAFT, AND RETRACTION MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FUSELAGE AND TO SAID FLEXIBLE PANEL FOR RETRACTING SAID FLEXIBLE PANEL INTO SAID RECESS WHEN SAID RIGID PANEL IS MOVED FROM SAID EXTENDED POSITION TO ITS POSITION COVERING SAID RECESS.