Airbus Operations Gmbh

Airbus Operations (s.a.s.)

Airbus UK Limited

Neil John Lyons

Ben Commis

Cyril Bonnaud

Thierry Fol

Edmund Kay

Christopher Perkins

Alan Mann

Alexander Büscher

Anne Dumoulin

Ching-Yu Hui

Robert Northam

Richard Lowry

Tom Gibson

Maxime Itasse

Aline Scotto

Robert Mills

Kevin Ip

An aircraft wing including a leading edge slat and a fixed aerofoil portion. The leading edge slat is moveable between a stowed position and deployed position. In the deployed position a trailing edge of the leading edge slat includes a sealed portion and an unsealed portion. The sealed portion forms a seal with the fixed aerofoil portion and the unsealed portion provides an airflow gap between the leading edge flap and the fixed aerofoil portion. The invention provides substantially the same benefits as a sealed leading edge slat whilst improving stall control behavior in local zones around the unsealed portion.

Leading edge slat

An aircraft wing is disclosed having a root end, a tip end, a span extending between the root end and the tip end, a leading edge, a trailing edge and a chord extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge, and including a main fixed wing portion having an inboard portion adjacent the root end, and an outboard portion adjacent the tip end. A wing tip device attached to the tip end of the wing; and a movable flight control surface connected at the outboard portion of the main fixed wing portion and having a leading edge, a trailing edge and a chord extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge. A ratio of the local chord length of the movable flight control surface to the local chord length of the wing varies in the spanwise direction.

Aircraft wing and wing tip device

An aircraft with wing tip devices, for example, folding wing tips, is disclosed. The folding wing tip may have a flight configuration for use during flight, and a ground configuration for use in ground-based operations. The ground configuration creates a shorter wing span than when the aircraft is in the flight configuration. A hinge arrangement protrudes beyond an outer surface of the fixed wing and wing tip device. In order to reduce the aerodynamic effect of the protruding hinge a fairing may be provided. In the flight configuration the fairing comprises a rear portion with a concave surface, such that the fairing acts as a lift-generating surface when the aircraft is in flight.

Fairing for folding wing tip

An aircraft wing () including a main wing () and a wing tip device () at the tip of the main wing (), wherein the wing tip device () has a variation of leading edge droop with respect to unrolled span-wise position such that flow separation on the wing tip device () first occurs in an outboard region (O) of the wing tip device (). The leading edge droop of the wing tip device () may be a maximum in an outboard region (O) of the wing tip device.

An aerodynamic structure for use on an upper surface of an aircraft wing is disclosed. The wing includes a slat operable between a stowed configuration in which the slat is stowed in a slat recess of the wing, and a deployed configuration in which the slat extends out of the slat recess. When the slat is in the deployed configuration, an end face of the slat recess is exposed, the end face intersecting with the upper surface of the wing at a recess edge. The aerodynamic structure, adjacent to the recess edge, has a volume shaped to encourage air flowing over the recess edge onto the upper surface during flight, to remain attached.

Aerodynamic structure for aircraft wing

A method of retrofitting a wing of a fixed wing aircraft is disclosed including the steps of providing an existing aircraft wing with a main fixed wing portion, and the main fixed wing portion having a tip end and an existing movable flight control surface connected adjacent the tip end. The existing movable flight control surface is then removed from the main fixed wing portion, and a wing tip device and movable flight control surface are selected as a pair to replace the existing movable flight control surface, with the selected movable flight control surface having an aerodynamic surface of different shape to the shape of the flight control surface removed from the wing. The selected wing tip device and movable flight control surface are then fitted to the main fixed wing portion.

Retrofit flight control surface

A natural-laminar-flow swept transonic wing fitted with a wing tip pod for controlling the location of a wing shock in the wing tip region, such that the shock extends outboard substantially up to the wing tip without substantially sweeping forward toward the wing tip leading edge.

Wing tip pod

A shock control fairing for mounting a junction between adjoining aircraft surfaces. The fairing has a cross-sectional profile which varies along the length of the fairing. The cross-sectional profile of the fairing has a maximum area at a location which, when mounted to an aircraft, is substantially proximal to a location on the surface of the aircraft at which a shock would be expected to develop without the fairing.

Aircraft fairing

According to the invention, the engine pylon for the suspension of a turbo engine under an aircraft wing is such that the trailing edge of the rear lower part of the engine pylon is shifted toward the root of the wing.

Growing community of inventors

Bristol, United Kingdom

Neil John Lyons