An aircraft includes an aircraft body portion 10, a wing portion 14 attached to the body portion by means of an intermediate portion 15 whose thickness diminishes outboard of the body portion to blend with the wing portion. The intermediate portion 15 comprises upper and lower surfaces diverging rearwardly from a leading region to a region of maximum divergence. The aft portion of the intermediate region is cut away to receive propulsion jet outlet 16 which is shaped to be within a rearward proj...

An aircraft including a body having a number of rotary lift elements mounted for rotation therein. Each of the lift elements is arranged with a vertical axis and is rotated by jet engines mounted near the periphery thereof. A plurality of paddle wheel lift members driven by air impinging thereagainst are mounted in chutes extending from the bottom to the top of the lift members. The blades of the paddle wheel ride on a rooster tail of air from the bottom chute to create lift. A flow of air above...

An aircraft with a flying surface rotating around an axis perpendicular to the fuselage and statically balanced around said axis. The flying surface has at the rear two flaps symmetrically disposed in relation to the mean longitudinal plane of the fuselage and deflectable in the same direction and by the same angle from the joystick or control column by a movement of the latter corresponding to elevation control. Variable multiplication means are interposed between the joystick and the flaps pro...

A high bypass ratio gas turbine engine for V/STOL aircraft propulsion has a central nozzle of rectangular cross-section for discharging the hot gas efflux and two flanking nozzles, also of rectangular cross-section, for discharging the cold bypass air, and each of the three nozzles is provided with a separate efflux deflection device for directing the efflux rearwardly and/or downwardly and/or upwardly in controllable rations. Each deflection device consists of rear end plug-type doors, that for...

For fuel storage aboard an aircraft a turnover door mounted on central pivots, which closes an armaments compartment in the underbelly of the fuselage, is adapted to serve as a fuel tank. Rotary fluid transfer couplings provided at the ends of the tank concentric with the pivots enable fuel to be transferred between the door tank and the main fuel system and also allow venting of the tank.

A multi-engined aircraft has an uneven plurality of engines each driving a propeller. An even number of these engines are mounted symmetrically on the wings of the aircraft and one engine is mounted on a tail fin of the aircraft with its propeller above the fuselage of the aircraft. This engine is preferably mounted in a nacelle at or near the top of the tail fin and the nacelle merges at its after end into a tail plane which is also mounted at or near the top of the tail fin.

An aircraft having an airfoil provided with a plurality of openings on the upper lift surface thereof for directing an airflow over substantially the entire area of that surface. This flow decreases the pressure over the upper lift surface for creating lift forces sufficient to lift the aircraft. The size of the opening is varied by a selectively positionable, pivotal flap. A wall portion cooperating with the flap to form the opening may have one of several configurations including planar, a wed...

The fuselage carries a rotatable tubular spar. Ribs fixed transversely of the spar support wing sheets. Slots in the wing sheets enable the ribs to pass through the wing sheets. Stops on the ends of the ribs limit the radial movement of the wing sheets. The slots and stops permit the tubular spar to flex during rotation.

An aircraft wing main spar is utilized for the carrying of flap blowing and lift augmenting air to the trailing edge of the wing. The main spar trailing edge is formed into an elongate nozzle which directs the air over and between said flaps.

A civil aircraft with a short takeoff and landing capability derived from the provision of a multiplicity of direct jet lift engines mounted in sponson pods along each side of the fuselage. The wings are united to the fuselage through these sponson pods which each comprise a cellular structure of spars designed both for transmitting and lift loads and to accommodate the lift engines.