US3884432A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
High-lift aircraft
Assignee: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Filing: 1973-06-05
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Granted: 1975-05-20
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Expires: 1993-06-05
Abstract
Abstract An aerodynamically balanced high-lift aircraft wherein the problems of large nose-down pitching moments generated by the flap high-lift forces, the loss of trim lift during high-lift flight and the yawing moments caused by the loss of an engine are solved without the use of large horizontal and vertical tails. Also the level of sideline and forward radiated noise is reduced without mechanical apparatus. In the present aircraft, a wing is carried by and bounded on the tips by spaced-parallel fuselages; horizontal tails are mounted only onto the outboard surfaces of the wing-tip fuselages, the centroid-of-lift of the high-lift flaps is located substantially at the center-of-gravity of the aircraft and the exhausts of the engines are emitted in the vertical plane of symmetry of the aircraft. In the aircraft of the present invention, yawing moments occuring during flight with an engine inoperative will be reduced; the horizontal tails will carry an upload and contribute positive trim lift; large nosedown pitching moments generated by the high-lift flaps will be minimized and noise levels will be reduced.
Inventors
- 👤 Jr Willard S Blanchard
- 👤 Jr Joseph L Johnson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 23:36
CPC Classifications
B; B64; B64D; B64D27/00; B64C; B64C21/00; B64C21/02; B64C21/04; B64C39/00; B64C39/04; B64C2230/00; B64C2230/04; B64C2230/06; B64C2230/14; B64C2230/16; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T50/00; Y02T50/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
247 words
A high-lift aircraft having a center-of-gravity comprising: a wing provided with flaps having a centroid-of-lift; a plurality of fuselages; said wing carried by and mounted on the tips thereof by two of said plurality of fuselages; said centroid-of-lift of said flaps being located substantially at the center-of-gravity of said high-lift aircraft; a plurality of propulsion means carried by said wing; at least two of said plurality of propulsion means grouped in a common nacelle located in the vertical plane of symmetry of the said aircraft, and each of said at least two of said plurality of propulsion means being in fluid connection with an exhaust duct, said exhaust ducts being arranged in a stacked overlapping relationship and located in said common nacelle, each of said at least two of said plurality of propulsion means exhausting high-energy air in the vertical plane of symmetry of said aircraft such that when any of said propulsion means is inoperative, yawing moments in said aircraft are minimized, a pair of horizontal tails fixed one each onto the outboard surfaces of the two of said plurality of fuselages mounted at the tips of said wing; whereby, during high-lift flight said horizontal tails are in an upwash field and contribute a positive increment to trim lift; nose-down pitching moments generated by said flaps are reduced as said flaps act substantially through said center-of-gravity of said aircraft; and, said plurality of fuselages serve to shield the noise radiated from said plurality of propulsion means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
247 words
A high-lift aircraft having a center-of-gravity comprising: a wing provided with flaps having a centroid-of-lift; a plurality of fuselages; said wing carried by and mounted on the tips thereof by two of said plurality of fuselages; said centroid-of-lift of said flaps being located substantially at the center-of-gravity of said high-lift aircraft; a plurality of propulsion means carried by said wing; at least two of said plurality of propulsion means grouped in a common nacelle located in the vertical plane of symmetry of the said aircraft, and each of said at least two of said plurality of propulsion means being in fluid connection with an exhaust duct, said exhaust ducts being arranged in a stacked overlapping relationship and located in said common nacelle, each of said at least two of said plurality of propulsion means exhausting high-energy air in the vertical plane of symmetry of said aircraft such that when any of said propulsion means is inoperative, yawing moments in said aircraft are minimized, a pair of horizontal tails fixed one each onto the outboard surfaces of the two of said plurality of fuselages mounted at the tips of said wing; whereby, during high-lift flight said horizontal tails are in an upwash field and contribute a positive increment to trim lift; nose-down pitching moments generated by said flaps are reduced as said flaps act substantially through said center-of-gravity of said aircraft; and, said plurality of fuselages serve to shield the noise radiated from said plurality of propulsion means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The aircraft as in claim 1 including a crew compartment disposed in at least one of said plurality of fuselages.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
The aircraft as in claim 1 wherein said wing flaps are segmented and said plurality of horizontal tails are differentially deflectable for rolling moment control with optional additional rolling moment control being obtained by differential deflection of outboard segments of the wing flaps.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
83 words
The aircraft as in claim 1 including a thrust deflection apparatus comprising: an exhaust deflector means housed in said propulsion means and controlled by the pilot of said aircraft for selectively, rapidly, and variably extending toward the upper surface of said wing and retracting back therefrom; wherein said exhausting high-energy air flows between said deflector means and the upper surface of said wing and is deflected by said deflector means such that the axial thrust component of said exhausting high-energy air is reduced.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The thrust deflection apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said exhaust deflector means is an open-sided arcuately shaped rectangular plate mounted at the rear of an engine nacelle.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
198 words
A high-lift aircraft having a center-of-gravity and comprising: a wing provided with flaps having a centroid-of-lift, said centroid-of-lift of said flaps being located substantially at said center-of-gravity of said aircraft; first and second fuselages mounted at the tips of said wing; first and second horizontal tails mounted onto the outboard surfaces of said first and second fuselages; a plurality of propulsion means carried by said wing; said propulsion means being grouped in a common nacelle located in the vertical plane of symmetry of said aircraft and wherein each of said plurality of propulsion means is in fluid connection with an exhaust duct; said exhaust ducts being arranged in a stacked overlapping relationship and housed in said common nacelle, each of said plurality of propulsion means exhausting in the vertical plane of symmetry of said aircraft such that when any of said plurality of propulsion means is inoperative, yawing moments in said aircraft are minimized, whereby, during high-lift flight said first and second horizontal tails are in an upwash field and contribute a positive increment to trim lift and nose-down pitching moments generated by said flaps are reduced as said flaps act substantially through said center-of-gravity of said aircraft.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
198 words
A high-lift aircraft having a center-of-gravity and comprising: a wing provided with flaps having a centroid-of-lift, said centroid-of-lift of said flaps being located substantially at said center-of-gravity of said aircraft; first and second fuselages mounted at the tips of said wing; first and second horizontal tails mounted onto the outboard surfaces of said first and second fuselages; a plurality of propulsion means carried by said wing; said propulsion means being grouped in a common nacelle located in the vertical plane of symmetry of said aircraft and wherein each of said plurality of propulsion means is in fluid connection with an exhaust duct; said exhaust ducts being arranged in a stacked overlapping relationship and housed in said common nacelle, each of said plurality of propulsion means exhausting in the vertical plane of symmetry of said aircraft such that when any of said plurality of propulsion means is inoperative, yawing moments in said aircraft are minimized, whereby, during high-lift flight said first and second horizontal tails are in an upwash field and contribute a positive increment to trim lift and nose-down pitching moments generated by said flaps are reduced as said flaps act substantially through said center-of-gravity of said aircraft.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-05-19 | 1978-11-18 | 1979-05-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-05-19 | 1982-11-18 | 1983-05-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-05-19 | 1986-11-18 | 1987-05-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |