The invention relates to a wing, a wing, a tail unit or grid fins for a flying object moving with supersonic speeds. The wing comprises leading edges and tailing edges. According to the invention, the contour of at least one of the leading contour and the tailing contour has a meandered shape. By means of the inventive meandered contours the wave drag of the flying object may be decreased. The inventive design of the leading or tailing edges of a wing can be used for aircrafts, spacecrafts, missiles, projectiles and the like.

Wing for an aircraft or spacecraft

An aircraft includes a tail extending from a fuselage. The tail defines a structural box having first and second vertical stabilizers that support a horizontal stabilizer. The tail includes at least one sacrificial control surface and at least one primary control surface. The primary control surfaces maintain aircraft controllability in the event that the sacrificial control surface becomes inoperable.

Stabilizer with structural box and sacrificial surfaces

Tailplanes (24) and empennages (16) for aircraft (10) are disclosed. An exemplary tailplane (24) disclosed includes a stabilizer (30) having a fixed shape and an elevator (32) movably secured to the stabilizer (30). The elevator (32) is movable from a neutral position relative to the stabilizer (30). The stabilizer (32) and the elevator (32) define an airfoil cross-sectional shape (38) having a positive camber when the elevator (32) is in the neutral position. The positive camber of the airfoil cross-sectional shape (38) may facilitate movement of the elevator (32) during some flight conditions. Also disclosed are tailplanes (24) having camber distributions that vary along the spans of the tailplanes (24).

Tailplane with positive camber

A process for improving the landing of an aircraft may include, prior to the aircraft contacting the ground, nose-up under-deflecting the aircraft's adjustable horizontal tail plane and nose-up deflecting the elevators. This arrangement increases the maximum nosedown swing of the elevators to increase the ability of the elevators to make the nose of the aircraft tilt downwards.

Process for improving the landing of an aircraft

An adjustable, or all -moving, horizontal stabiliser (4) for an aircraft, the stabiliser having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a root and a tip, and a strake (7) fixed with respect to the stabiliser (4) and attached to, or integrally formed with, the stabiliser leading edge adjacent the root.

Aircraft horizontal stabiliser fitted with leading-edge strake

Disclosed is an airplane all-moving airfoil having a moment reducing apex for facilitating control of the airfoil. In a preferred embodiment, the apex protrudes forward from the leading edge of an all-moving horizontal stabilizer and operates through its aerodynamic effect on the stabilizer to reduce the moment required to maintain and vary the stabilizer position. Counter-rotating airflow vortices produced by the apex reduce the rearward displacement of the center of pressure on the stabilizer as the stabilizer is deflected into an increasing angle of attack. As a result, lighter weight hydraulic stabilizer and elevator actuating mechanisms can be employed. In a preferred embodiment an aeroelastically flexible apex is employed to enhance moment reduction at high angles of attack.

Armand Sigalla

Papers

Airplane all-moving airfoil with moment reducing apex