The Boeing Company

Norman Henry Princen

Benjamin A Harber

Robert H Liebeck

Edward L Lawson

Sho Sato

Eric David Dickey

Mark Steven Kuehn

Jaime E Baraja

Michael K Kisska

Pichuraman Sundaram

Dharmendra Nathubhai Patel

Gary B Cosentino

Methods and apparatus for accelerating an aircraft fuselage boundary layer via a fan powered by an APU of the aircraft are disclosed. An example aircraft includes a fuselage, an APU, and a fan. The fuselage includes an outer skin. The APU is located within the fuselage. The fan includes a plurality of fan blades arranged circumferentially about the APU and projecting radially outward from the outer skin. The fan further includes a fan drive operatively coupled to the APU. The fan drive is configured to rotate the fan blades in response to a supply of electrical energy provided to the fan drive from the APU. The rotation of the fan blades accelerates a fuselage boundary layer traveling rearward along the outer skin from a first velocity to a second velocity greater than the first velocity.

Methods and apparatus for accelerating an aircraft fuselage boundary layer via a fan powered by an auxiliary power unit of the aircraft

An aircraft having a blended-wing-body configuration includes a centerbody, a pair of wings, at least one pair of engines, a pair of air inlets, and a pair of exhaust outlets. The centerbody has an airfoil-shaped cross section, an aircraft centerline, an aft portion, an upper mold line, a lower mold line, and a pair of centerbody leading edge portions respectively on opposite sides of the aircraft centerline. The wings are integral with the centerbody. The pair of engines are located on opposite sides of the aircraft centerline and are mounted within the centerbody between the upper mold line and the lower mold line. The pair of air inlets are located respectively along the centerbody leading edge portions and are respectively fluidly coupled to the pair of engines. The pair of exhaust outlets our located in the aft portion of the centerbody and our respectively fluidly coupled to the pair of engines.

Aircraft having embedded engines

An end seal device for a high-lift device on an airfoil leading edge of an airfoil includes an end seal body configured to be coupled to the airfoil and having a seal body spanwise portion and a seal end. The end seal body is configured to be in a seal extended position when the high-lift device is in a device extended position. The seal body spanwise portion is disposed adjacent to the aircraft body or the airfoil leading edge and the seal end is disposed adjacent to a device end of the high-lift device when the end seal body is in the seal extended position and the high-lift device is in the device extended position. The end seal body in the seal extended position fills a discontinuity otherwise occurring between the device end and the aircraft body or airfoil leading edge if the end seal body were omitted.

End seal device for a high-lift device of an aircraft

Described herein is vehicle comprising a body. The vehicle also comprises a cargo door assembly, coupled to the body. The cargo door assembly comprises a first door, movable, relative to the body, between a first closed position and a first open position. The cargo door assembly also comprises a first aerodynamics control surface, coupled to the first door and selectively movable relative to the first door. The preceding subject matter of this paragraph characterizes example 1 of the present disclosure.

Cargo door assembly for vehicle

Secondary air flow is provided for a ducted fan having a reverse flow turbine engine core driving a fan blisk. The fan blisk incorporates a set of thrust fan blades extending from an outer hub and a set of integral secondary flow blades extending intermediate an inner hub and the outer hub. A nacelle provides an outer flow duct for the thrust fan blades and a secondary flow duct carries flow from the integral secondary flow blades as cooling air for components of the reverse flow turbine engine.

Growing community of inventors

Long Beach, CA, United States of America

Norman Henry Princen