A wheel well fairing for reducing drag on an aircraft fuselage configured with an open wheel well for stowing landing gear of the aircraft. The wheel well fairing includes a Coanda fairing having a convex-shaped lower portion and an upper portion. The upper portion is configured for positioning adjacent an interior vertically-orientated sidewall of the wheel well, and the convex-shaped lower portion has a bottom surface configured to extend substantially parallel to and positioned adjacent with an outer hull surface of the fuselage. The convex-shaped lower portion is curved inwardly within the wheel well between the upper portion and bottom surface. The Coanda fairing is positioned at an aft portion of the wheel well to redirect airflow out of the wheel well in a rearward direction along the bottom hull surface of the fuselage.
A wingtip of a lifting surface of an aeronautical vehicle, the lifting surface having a span, a leading edge, a trailing edge, an upper surface and a lower surface, the wingtip being in a range of five percent to fifteen percent of an end portion of the span of the lifting surface, the wingtip including: an elliptical shape between the leading and trailing edges, the elliptical shape tapering in a direction towards an outer edge of the wing tip, wherein the tapering occurs in a plurality of geometric parameters of the lifting surface including spanwise chord distribution between the leading and trailing edges, spanwise mean camber distribution between the leading and trailing edges, spanwise maximum thickness between the upper and lower surfaces, and spanwise twist of a mean average of the spanwise chord distribution of the wingtip.
A wheel well fairing (230) for reducing drag on an aircraft fuselage configured with an open wheel well (111) for stowing landing gear of the aircraft. The wheel well fairing includes a Coanda fairing having a convex-shaped lower portion and an upper portion. The upper portion is configured for positioning adjacent an interior vertically-orientated sidewall of the wheel well, and the convex- shaped lower portion has a bottom surface configured to extend substantially parallel to and positioned adjacent with an outer hull surface of the fuselage. The convex-shaped lower portion is curved inwardly within the wheel well between the upper portion and bottom surface. The Coanda fairing is positioned at an aft portion of the wheel well to redirect airflow out of the wheel well in a rearward direction along the bottom hull surface of the fuselage.
A wing-to-body fairing on an aircraft having a fuselage, wing, and a wing root fairing. The wing-to-body fairing includes forward and trailing edges. The forward edge is configured for positioning adjacent a first predetermined location of an aft portion of the wing root fairing. The trailing edge is configured for positioning adjacent a second predetermined location of the aft portion of the fuselage. A convex-shaped forward portion of the fairing is configured to conform to the aft portion of the wing root fairing at the first predetermined location. A concave-shaped aft portion of the fairing is configured to conform to the aft portion of the fuselage at the second predetermined location. An exterior surface of the wing-to-body fairing is gradient optimized to minimize curvature, where the fairing trailing edge is configured with matching angles and contours as the aft portion of the fuselage at the second location.
B64C 1/26 - Attaching the wing or tail units or stabilising surfaces
B64C 1/22 - Other structures integral with fuselages to facilitate loading
B64F 5/00 - Designing, manufacturing, assembling, cleaning, maintaining or repairing aircraft, not otherwise provided forHandling, transporting, testing or inspecting aircraft components, not otherwise provided for
5.
APPARATUS FOR REDUCING DRAG OF A TRANSVERSE DUCT EXIT FLOW
A faking assembly is provided about a duct outlet port, which is not parallel to an exterior surface of a vehicle, so as to turn fluid flow exiting the duct outlet port in a direction of surface fluid flow. The fairing assembly includes an upstream vane fairing to orient the surface flow with the angled duct flow, a downstream Coanda fairing to turn transverse duct flow in the direction of the surface flow, and a pair of vortex generators each of which is positioned at an opposing lateral side of the Coanda fairing and angled towards each other and angled towards each other to organize the combined fluid flow downstream of the duct outlet port to thereby minimize recirculation. This fairing assembly about the duct outlet port enhances organized mixing of the duct and surface flows, and thereby reduces duct and surface recirculation, duct restriction, and overall vehicle drag.
A cupola fairing (250) for reducing drag and increasing lift on an aircraft fuselage (210) and wings (220). The fairing includes a housing length extending along a longitudinal axis, and a variable width extending normal to the longitudinal axis. The housing width is variable and defined by a plurality of cross-sectional areas of the cupola fairing. The fairing has a substantially smooth exterior surface that is curved along the length and the variable width of the housing. The housing surface has its longitudinal and transverse curvatures being defined by metrics corresponding to a reference wing root chord of the aircraft (200), a cross-sectional area of the fuselage, a percentage of the cross-sectional area to be covered by the fairing, and positioning of the cupola fairing on the crown portion of the fuselage (210). The housing has a lower surface configured to conform to a shape of the crown at which the cupola fairing (250) is positioned.
B64C 1/00 - FuselagesConstructional features common to fuselages, wings, stabilising surfaces or the like
B64C 1/38 - Constructions adapted to reduce effects of aerodynamic or other external heating
B64C 7/00 - Structures or fairings not otherwise provided for
B64F 5/00 - Designing, manufacturing, assembling, cleaning, maintaining or repairing aircraft, not otherwise provided forHandling, transporting, testing or inspecting aircraft components, not otherwise provided for
