Aerodynamic flow body

Claim 1

Aerodynamic-lifting vehicle of the short take off and landing type having a longitudinal axis and a maximum dimension and having a bilaterally symmetric planform taken about the longitudinal axis thereof, said vehicle comprising: a forward section having upper and lower surfaces, said forward section being of substantially delta-shaped planform, said forward section presenting an airfoil shape in side elevation section; an aft section in tandem and integral with said forward section, said aft section presenting an airfoil shape in side elevation section; engine means mounted on said aft section and including a housing having inlet means positioned to induce airflow over said upper and lower surfaces of said forward section during operation of said engine means irrespective of motion of said vehicle; a line taken along the longitudinal axis from the forward tip of said forward section to the rear tip of said aft section defining the root chord of said vehicle; a pair of side panels, one of said side panels extending transversely from the longitudinal axis in either direction from said aft section of said vehicle, each of said side panels being of progressively increasing length, in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis, from the forwardmost portion of said side panels aftward to at least one-half the distance of the aftmost portion of said side panels, the remainder of said side panels defining the tip chord of said vehicle, and each of said side panels presenting an airfoil shape in side elevation section; a line taken perpendicular to said root chord and along the maximum dimension of said vehicle across said aft section of said side panels defining the total span of said vehicle; the ratio of the root chord to the total span being between 1.0 and 1.33; and the ratio of the tip chord to the root chord being between 1/20 and 1/8.