The Boeing Company

Neal A Harrison

John Charles Vassberg

Anthony J Sclafani

Christopher K Droney

Max Urban Kismarton

Robert Erik Grip

Aaron Jonathan Kutzmann

Lie-Mine Gea

David J Manley

Blaine Knight Rawdon

John Joseph Brown

Robert D Gregg, Iii

Mark DeHaan

Adam D Grasch

Alan Zachary Ullman

Kevin Reed Lutke

Paul W Dees

Bret Alan Bowers

Edward L Lawson

Benjamin A Harber

Eric David Dickey

William M Sampedro-Thompson

Antonio B Gonzales

Michael W Traffenstedt

David C Hyde

Alan C Simonini

David S Lazzara

David T Yeh

Robb Gregg, Iii

Michael D Beyar

Steve Hollowell

Theodore K Rothaupt

John C Vassberg

Mark Dehaan

Apparatus and articles of manufacture are disclosed of an aircraft comprising: a brace to support a wing of the aircraft, the brace including a first end coupled to the wing and a second end coupled to a fuselage of the aircraft, the brace including: a strut extending between the first end and the second end; and an airfoil having a cavity containing the strut.

Transonic aircraft with tension-based wing support

An aircraft includes a fuselage and a pair of wings. Each wing is coupled to the fuselage at a wing-fuselage joint, and is supported by a strut coupled to the fuselage at a strut-fuselage joint and coupled to the wing at a strut-wing joint. The strut-fuselage joint is located below and at least partially aft of the wing-fuselage joint. The wing generates a lifting force when air passes over the wing. The lifting force induces a vertical moment about the wing-fuselage joint due to the location of the strut-fuselage joint below and at least partially aft of the wing-fuselage joint. The wing and/or the strut has a structural arrangement configured to counteract the vertical moment.

Structural arrangement and method for counteracting a vertical moment of a strut-braced wing

Described herein is an aircraft. The aircraft comprises a body. The aircraft also comprises a wing coupled to and extending from the body. The wing comprises a wing inboard end portion, a wing outboard end portion, opposite the wing inboard end portion, and an intermediate portion between the wing inboard end portion and the wing outboard end portion. The aircraft further comprises a strut. The strut comprises a strut inboard end portion coupled to and extending from the body and a strut outboard end portion coupled to and extending from the intermediate portion of the wing. The aircraft additionally comprises at least one aerodynamic control surface movably coupled to the strut.

Aircraft with strut-braced wing system

Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to extend a leading-edge vortex of a highly-swept wing aircraft wing are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a shoulder wing coupled to a fuselage of an aircraft above a highly-swept wing of the aircraft, the shoulder wing operative in a first position to extend a leading-edge vortex spanwise along the highly-swept wing of the aircraft.

Methods and apparatus to extend a leading-edge vortex of a highly-swept aircraft wing

An aircraft includes a body, a wing coupled to and extending from the body, and a strut. The wing includes a wing thickest region bounded by a wing thickest region leading boundary and a wing thickest region trailing boundary. The strut includes a strut thickest region bounded by a strut thickest region leading boundary and a strut thickest region trailing boundary. In a planform view, the wing thickest region overlaps the strut thickest region at an overlap region, where the overlap region including less than fifteen percent of the strut thickest region.

An aircraft that comprises a body, a wing, and a strut. The wing is coupled to and extends from the body. The wing comprises a wing inboard end portion, a wing outboard end portion, opposite the wing inboard end portion, and an intermediate portion between the wing inboard end portion and the wing outboard end portion. The strut comprises a strut inboard end portion and a strut outboard end portion. The strut inboard end portion is coupled to and extends from the body and the strut outboard end portion is coupled to and extends from the intermediate portion of the wing. The strut outboard end portion of the strut is configured to generate a download acting on the strut outboard end portion of the strut when the aircraft is in flight.

An aircraft nose gear-mounted flight control device promotes aircraft stability during low-speed phases of flight, including take-offs and landings. The flight control device is an operable airfoil secured to an aircraft nose gear, either to a vertical support strut or to a wheel axle thereof. The airfoil is deployed when the nose gear is deployed, and is retracted when the nose gear is retracted. Upon deployment, the airfoil is effective to at least provide aircraft pitch control. In some configurations, the airfoil deploys as two separate but mirror-imaged left and right airfoil components that move in concert to provide pitch control. In other configurations, the airfoil components move at relatively different angular rates and amounts to provide both pitch and roll control. The entire airfoil may be pivotal for pitch control, or may instead be fixed, but have moveable flaps or flap-like portions that provide pitch control.

Undercarriage-mounted airfoil

Disclosed herein is an aircraft that comprises a body, a wing, and a strut. The wing is coupled to and extends from the body. A strut inboard end portion is coupled to and extends from the body and a strut outboard end portion is coupled to and extends from an intermediate portion of the wing. The wing further comprises a first thinned portion adjacent the intermediate portion of the wing. An overall thickness of the first thinned portion of the wing decreases and increases in a spanwise direction along the wing. The strut further comprises a second thinned portion adjacent the outboard end portion of the strut. An overall thickness of the second thinned portion of the strut decreases and increases in a spanwise direction along the strut.

Multi-directional control using upper surface blowing systems is described herein. One disclosed example method includes a flow director of an aircraft, where the flow director is to cause an exhaust stream of an upper surface blowing system to attach to a fuselage of the aircraft, and a controller to control the flow director to affect one or more of a pitch, a yaw or a roll of the aircraft by varying a degree of the attachment of the exhaust stream to the fuselage.

Multi-directional control using upper surface blowing systems

An airfoil may include a leading edge and a shape control mechanism. The leading edge may include a flexible leading edge skin having a first end, a second end, and an arc length defined therebetween. The shape control mechanism may be attached to the flexible leading edge skin at a plurality of support locations and may transition the flexible leading edge skin from a first shape having a first curvature profile to a second shape having a second curvature profile different than the first curvature profile without a change in the arc length.

Morphing airfoil leading edge

A mechanism for changing a shape of a leading edge of an airfoil may include a first rib and a second rib. The first rib may include a plurality of first rib segments. The first rib may move between a first folded shape and a first extended shape. The second rib may include a plurality of second rib segments. The second rib may move between a second folded shape and a second extended shape. An actuator may be coupled to the first rib, the second rib, or both, to move the first rib, the second rib, or both, between their respective folded and extended shapes.

Dual-rib morphing leading edge

A vortex generator may include a depression in an aerodynamic surface, and a vortex generator leading edge located in the depression. The vortex generator leading edge may include a leading edge upper surface. The leading edge upper surface may be positioned at or below a tangent line defined at a location along the aerodynamic surface upstream of the depression relative to an oncoming local flow.

Submerged vortex generator

Apparatus and methods provide for a swept-wing powered-lift aircraft. Aspects of the disclosure provide a powered-lift aircraft that utilizes the engine exhaust flow over upper surface blown flaps to increase lift during various flight operations. The powered-lift aircraft has wings with inboard portions and outboard portions. The adjacent inboard and outboard portions share a swept leading edge. The leading edge is swept to a degree that shifts the outboard portion rearward to a position in which the aircraft center of lift has little to no variance upon the activation or deactivation of a powered-lift system.

Swept-wing powered-lift aircraft

Apparatus and methods provide for a controllable upper surface blown (USB) nozzle aperture. Aspects of the disclosure provide a powered-lift aircraft that utilizes a controllable nozzle aperture to maximize the spreading of the engine exhaust flow over the wing and USB flap surfaces to increase lift when desirable and to minimize exhaust plume contact with the wing and USB flap surfaces when minimizing drag is desirable. The controllable USB nozzle aperture includes movable upper, lower, and side duct surfaces to dynamically vary the geometry of the nozzle exit aperture to minimize the height and maximize the width of the exit aperture for maximum spreading of the exhaust plume or to maximize the height and minimize the width of the exit aperture for minimizing the spreading of the exhaust plume and minimizing the associated drag.

Growing community of inventors

Lake Forest, CA, United States of America

Neal A Harrison