aircraft

Abstract

The aircraft comprises a first wing and a second wing, each of the first and second wings comprising a pressurized section for receiving a payload, the first wing and the second wing each comprising: a wing first portion, a wing second portion, and a wing transition portion connecting the first wing portion and the second wing portion, the pressurized section being disposed within the wing first portion and the wing transition portion, a pressurized wing skin defining the pressurized section having a wingtip-facing end and an aft-facing end, the aft-facing end following the end of the pressurized section when viewed from the trailing edge, and the wingtip-facing end being disposed within the wing transition portion when viewed from the leading edge and extending in a streamwise direction to meet the aft-facing end.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to flying vehicles, in particular aircraft, and more particularly to a relatively new type of aircraft known as a "flying V". Such an aircraft was first proposed in DE 102014201040 A1 (filed in the name of AIRBUS Operations GmbH and naming one of the inventors of the present invention as an inventor), and is described therein as an aircraft having a first swept-back wing and a second swept-back wing, the first swept-back wing being arranged at a sweep angle relative to a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and the second swept-back wing being arranged symmetrically to the first swept-back wing with respect to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. The aircraft has a first payload section integrated within a portion of the first wing, located near the leading edge and extending generally parallel to the extension of the leading edge sweep angle of the first wing. The aircraft has a second payload section The first and second wings may also have a second payload section integrated into a portion of the second wing, located near the leading edge, and extending generally parallel to the direction of extension of the leading edge sweep angle of the second wing. The aircraft may further have wingtip sections having a smaller sweep angle and disposed spanwise on the first and second wings. In other words, the Flying V aircraft disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be described as having two symmetrical wings, each having a first wing section with a larger sweep angle and accommodating passengers; and a second wing section with a smaller sweep angle. [Background technology]

[0002] Research into the design of the Flying V aircraft has also been carried out at Delft University of Technology by a research group led by Roelof Vos, one of the inventors of the present application. This research has resulted in several scientific publications between 2017 and 2022, as well as the flight of a scale model prototype design since 2020.

[0003] Before a radically new aircraft concept such as the Flying V can be built to full scale and carry passengers for commercial flight, numerous challenges must be overcome regarding the detailed design of the aircraft. The present invention is particularly concerned with the design of the wing where a first section, which can be thick and accommodates passengers, transitions into a second section, which can be thin. In particular, this section of the wing, hereinafter defined as the wing transition section, presents numerous different trade-offs, such as minimizing structural weight while, on the other hand, increasing lift relative to the aircraft's drag, minimizing the drag coefficient, and increasing cruising speed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] German Patent Application Publication No. 102014201040 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The object of the present invention is therefore to optimize the structural layout of a wing of an aircraft of the type mentioned above, in particular in the region of the wing where the first wing section transforms into the second wing section. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Thus, the present invention relates to an aircraft comprising a first wing and a second wing, each of the first and second wings comprising a pressurized compartment defined by a pressurized skin for receiving a payload; Each of the first and second wings: a first portion of the wing having a first leading edge sweep angle and a first trailing edge sweep angle; a second portion of the wing having a second leading edge sweep angle and a second trailing edge sweep angle; a wing transition section connecting the first wing section and the second wing section to each other; the second leading edge sweep angle and the second trailing edge sweep angle differ in magnitude from the first leading edge sweep angle and the first trailing edge sweep angle, respectively; the transition section of the wing, viewed spanwise, is defined between a streamwise-oriented line passing through a point at the trailing edge of the wing where the first trailing edge sweep angle transitions to the transitional trailing edge sweep angle and a streamwise-oriented line passing through a point at the leading edge of the wing where the transitional leading edge sweep angle transitions to the second leading edge sweep angle; a pressurized section disposed within the first portion of the wing and within the transition portion of the wing; a pressurized wing skin defining a pressurized section, the pressurized wing skin having a wingtip-facing end and an aft-facing end; an aft-facing edge of the pressurized wing skin, as viewed from the trailing edge of the wing, following the edge of the pressurized section and being at least partially disposed within the transition section of the wing; The tip-facing end of the pressurized section, when viewed from the leading edge of the wing, is located within the transition section of the wing and extends in the streamwise direction until it meets the aft-facing end.

[0007] Advantageously, by disposing the pressurized wing skin not only on the first portion of the wing but also on the transition portion of the wing, the construction of the transition portion of the wing can be significantly simplified compared to previous solutions, while still creating a pressurized compartment for the payload within the transition portion of the wing. This at least partially eliminates the need for heavy, complex, and expensive skins in skin solutions to create a pressurized compartment within the transition portion of the wing. This therefore results in a lighter construction, reduced manufacturing costs, and a larger payload capacity.

[0008] The tip-facing edge of the pressurized wing skin extends streamwise from the leading edge of the wing, thereby advantageously simultaneously achieving a suitable wing profile for all possible cross sections throughout the transitional portion of the wing, thereby minimizing drag, especially at high subsonic speeds.

[0009] For purposes of defining this invention, an aircraft of the invention comprises a first wing and a second wing. For example, the roots of these wings may be attached to one another, resulting in an inverted V-shaped aircraft. However, in alternative embodiments, some type of fuselage may be present between these wings. In further alternative embodiments, a third, fourth, etc. wing may be present between the first and second wings, with these additional wings also being, for example, arranged at a sweep angle. In particular, the first and second wings may be arranged symmetrically with respect to the forward flight direction of the aircraft.

[0010] According to the invention, each of the first and second wings includes a pressurized compartment. In particular, the pressurized compartments are at least partially used to seat passengers, thereby allowing passengers to be seated inside the wing. Alternatively and / or simultaneously, the pressurized compartments can be used to carry cargo, including potentially livestock.

[0011] According to the present invention, a pressurized compartment is defined by a pressurized skin, which may more specifically be the skin that (also) defines the shape of the wing. Thus, when referring to a pressurized wing skin in this disclosure, we are not referring to the aerodynamic pressure difference between the top and bottom of the wing surface that ensures the wing will lift off / stay airborne, but rather to the internal pressurization of the pressurized compartment. In this way, subatmospheric conditions can exist within the pressurized compartment, much like those found within the fuselage of a "conventional" airplane, compared to the environment at cruising altitude, where pressure and temperature can become unbearable for humans.

[0012] According to the present invention, each of the first and second wings has a wing first portion, a wing second portion, and a wing transition portion.

[0013] When viewed spanwise from the wing root toward the wing tip (tip), the first section of the wing is generally located near or includes the root and has a relatively large sweep angle and a thick wing profile. The large sweep angle of the first section of the wing positions the payload relatively close to the central axis of the aircraft, which minimizes accelerations experienced by the payload during aircraft maneuvers. The thick wing profile provides a large payload volume.

[0014] The second wing section is typically located near or includes the wing tip. The sweep angle of the second wing section is reduced relative to the sweep angle of the first wing section to increase the wing span and achieve a favorable lift-to-drag ratio and favorable aircraft maneuverability. The profile of the second wing section is thinned to achieve favorable aerodynamic characteristics. Therefore, the wing transition section must connect the thick profile of the first wing section to the thin profile of the second wing section while, among other things, minimizing structural weight, maximizing aerodynamic performance, and maximizing payload volume. To connect the thick profile of the first wing section to the thin profile of the second wing section, the three-dimensional (3D) shape of the profile of the wing transition section typically varies across different cross sections, gradually adapting the shape of the first wing section to the shape of the second wing section.

[0015] The wing first section, the wing second section, and the wing transition section each have a sweep angle, which may be zero for at least one of these sections. Furthermore, the wing sweep angle—either the leading edge sweep angle or the trailing edge sweep angle—need not be constant throughout each section of the wing. In particular, the trailing edge sweep angle may vary throughout a particular section of the wing.

[0016] In accordance with the present invention, a pressurized section extends beyond the first portion of the wing into the transition portion of the wing.

[0017] The pressurized section is defined by the wing skin and is therefore a pressurized wing skin. This skin is preferably formed as a single layer wing skin having a tip-facing end and an aft-facing end. The entire wing skin, e.g., the first portion of the wing, does not need to be pressurized. For example, pressurization can exist only between the leading edge of the wing region and the aft spar of the wing region—or any equivalent stiffening structural member, including the bulkhead. For example, pressurization can exist only between the front spar of the wing and the aft spar of the wing region—or any equivalent stiffening structural member, including the bulkhead.

[0018] The tip-facing edge of the pressurized section is located at a spanwise position within the wing's transition section; this position can be a design variable and can depend on the tradeoffs between specification requirements and design that arise during the aircraft's development phase. The tip-facing edge, when viewed from the leading edge of the wing, generally extends in the aircraft's flow direction and is therefore generally parallel to the direction of forward flight. However, small variations in angle, e.g., up to 7-10 degrees, are certainly acceptable. The tip-facing edge is not continuous all the way to the trailing edge, but rather is interrupted by the aft-facing edge of the wing skin. The aft-facing edge of the wing skin, when viewed from the trailing edge of the wing, follows the edge of the pressurized section until it meets the tip-facing edge at a point within the wing's transition section. In a preferred embodiment, the tip-facing edge of the pressurized section is defined by a structural member, such as a rib or bulkhead, extending in the flow direction from the leading edge. However, in an alternative embodiment, the end of the pressurized section can be defined by an imaginary edge line, which is drawn along a straight line / area within the transition section of the wing, where the pressurized section transitions towards the height of the second section of the wing, even when there is already a more gradual transition in height near the end of the first section of the wing / on the inboard side of the edge line facing the tip. Optionally, the outboard side of the edge line facing the tip can also be pressurized. Thus, when viewed in the span direction, according to the invention, the pressurized section present within the transition section of the wing initially remains at substantially the same height as the first section of the wing, and only drops significantly when it reaches the edge line facing the tip.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second leading edge sweep angle is less than the first leading edge sweep angle, which, as explained above, allows for a wing span large enough to have a favorable lift / drag ratio while still producing a favorable center of gravity from a control standpoint.

[0020] In one embodiment of the invention, the second trailing edge sweep angle is less than the first trailing edge sweep angle. However, it is by no means required that the leading edge sweep angle of a wing portion on the one hand and the trailing edge sweep angle of a wing portion on the other hand be similar or the same. For example, a smaller trailing edge sweep angle than the leading edge sweep angle may result in the chord of the wing portion decreasing in span.

[0021] However, it may be preferable when a pressurized compartment has a relatively constant cross-section so that passengers seated in the pressurized compartment experience this as being seated in a "normal" airplane having a fuselage. An additional and / or alternative reason for having a pressurized compartment with a relatively constant cross-section may be to simplify both the design and manufacturing efforts, and therefore the unit costs. Furthermore, when pressurized compartments have a constant cross-section, it may be easier to "scale" the aircraft, thereby resulting in a true family of aircraft with larger or smaller payload volumes among different members of the family, while minimizing the number of parts required for the entire family.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the profile of the second portion of the wing has a smaller thickness / chord (t / c) ratio than the profile of the first portion of the wing. For the first portion of the wing, the constraint of carrying payload within the wing may be more decisive for the selection of the profile, resulting in a relatively thick wing for a large payload, whereas for the second portion of the wing, the aerodynamic performance of this portion of the wing may be more decisive for the selection of the profile, resulting in a relatively thin wing for a large lift / drag ratio. However, it should be noted that in this embodiment, due to the relatively large sweep angle of the first portion of the wing, which has a relatively large t / c ratio, the profile of the wing defined in the chord direction may differ significantly from the profile of the wing in the streamwise direction parallel to the direction of forward flight, from leading edge to trailing edge, while still providing reasonable aerodynamic performance for the first portion of the wing.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the root of the first wing and the root of the second wing are connected to one another and the aircraft is a Flying V aircraft, in which case it is preferred that the first and second wings are perfectly symmetrical to one another.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the leading edge sweep angle of the transition region is approximately equal to the leading edge sweep angle of the first portion of the wing. However, it is quite possible for the leading edge sweep angle of the transition region to be different from the leading edge sweep angle of the first portion of the wing. If these two sweep angles are different, the leading edge sweep angle of the transition region will most likely have a magnitude between the leading edge sweep angles of the first portion and the second portion. As noted above, although this may be advantageous, it is not required that the leading edge sweep angle of the first portion of the wing be constant. The first portion of the wing may have two or more sub-portions, each of which may have its own leading edge sweep angle. The same is true for the transition portion of the wing and the second portion of the wing.

[0025] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the trailing edge sweep angle of the transition region is approximately equal to the trailing edge sweep angle of the second portion of the wing. However, it is quite possible for the trailing edge sweep angle of the transition region to be different from the trailing edge sweep angle of the second portion of the wing. If these two sweep angles are different, the trailing edge sweep angle of the transition region will most likely have a magnitude between the trailing edge sweep angles of the first portion and the second portion. As noted above, although it may be advantageous, it is not required that the trailing edge sweep angle of the transition portion of the wing be constant. The transition portion of the wing can have two or more sub-portions, each of which can have its own trailing edge sweep angle. The same is true for the first portion of the wing and the second portion of the wing.

[0026] In one embodiment of the invention, the transition section of the wing includes an extended pressurized section located spanwise beyond the tip-facing end of the pressurized wing skin. For example, this additional pressurized section can be formed by stiffening and pressurizing the wing skin in that portion of the transition section of the wing. In such an embodiment, the tip-facing end of the main pressurized section can be virtual. As explained above, the pressurized section is distinguished by having a relatively constant height up to its tip-facing end. This results in a lower height within the extended pressurized section, which generally reduces relatively large angles of inclination.

[0027] In an alternative embodiment, physical end structures exist at the ends of the main pressurized compartment, separating it from the extended pressurized compartment.

[0028] In a further alternative, this additional pressurized section may be formed by a secondary structure inside the wing skin, with the wing skin itself remaining unpressurized.

[0029] In one embodiment of the invention, the first portion of the wing comprises the wing root, and thus may alternatively be referred to as the "inboard" portion of the wing.

[0030] In one embodiment of the invention, the second portion of the wing comprises a wing tip, and thus may alternatively be referred to as the "outboard" portion of the wing.

[0031] In one embodiment of the invention, the profile of the transitional portion of the wing, outboard of the tip-facing end of the pressurized skin, is different in spanwise direction compared to the profile of the transitional portion of the wing, inboard of the tip-facing end of the pressurized skin. As mentioned above, a relatively thick profile is used in the cross section where the pressurized section is present, allowing sufficient payload volume to be present inside the pressurized section. However, the shape of the transitional portion of the wing beyond the pressurized section should change toward the wing shape of the second portion of the wing, and may be thinner. This change is preferably gradual, e.g., linear, so that each wing section in the streamwise direction between the tip-facing end of the pressurized wing skin and the beginning of the second portion of the wing can be different / unique.

[0032] It should be noted that the contours of the transition sections of the wing are similar to one another on the inboard side of the tip-facing end, particularly along the chordwise length, all the way to the aft-facing end, beyond which the contours of the wing may also differ for different spanwise cross sections of the transition section of the wing.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, the angle between the tip-facing end of the pressurized wing skin and the aft-facing end of the pressurized wing skin is obtuse. However, this is not a requirement. Depending on the exact shape of the pressurized section inside the wing and the selected location of the tip-facing end of the streamwise-oriented pressurized wing skin, a right angle or an acute angle may occur between these ends. At the connection point of the lines of these two ends, a rounded bulkhead may be implemented to gradually transfer forces from one end to the other.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the aft-facing end of the pressurized wing skin begins along the trailing edge of the first wing section. This may be preferable when the cross-section of the pressurized section is relatively constant. This means that the pressurized section ends near the region where the transition section of the wing begins, since the wing may taper significantly from there. Keeping in mind the structural reinforcement required near the end of the pressurized section, as well as where the wing sweep angle changes, the end of the pressurized section can be located just before the end of the first wing section along the trailing edge of the wing. However, given the above discussion, extending the pressurized section further toward the leading edge and into the transition section of the wing maximizes the pressurized volume, and therefore the payload volume.

[0035] These and other aspects of the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] 1 is a top view that schematically illustrates an embodiment of an aircraft according to the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of a detail of the aircraft shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a portion of the aircraft shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] Detailed Description of the Drawings Figures 1 and 2, taken together, illustrate a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. Referring initially primarily to Figure 1, an aircraft 1 is shown carrying a payload, such as passengers. The aircraft lacks a conventional fuselage, but instead carries the payload within its wings 11, 12. To this end, portions of the wing skins may be pressurized, indicated by reference numeral 14, while other portions of the wing skins are not pressurized, indicated by reference numeral 15. The wings 11, 12 are connected to each other at their roots. This new type of aircraft configuration has become known as the "flying V" configuration. There are two wings 11, 12, one on the left side of the drawing, aligned along the negative y-axis, and the other on the right side of the drawing, aligned along the positive y-axis. The wings 11, 12 are symmetrically positioned relative to each other and are joined to each other at their respective wing roots 21. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each of the wings 11, 12 has a thickness and is hollow internally, allowing a pressurized section 13 to be formed within the wings 11, 12; the pressurized section 13 is designed to accommodate a payload, such as a passenger. As with any conventional wing, a root 21, a tip 22, a leading edge 20, and a trailing edge 19 are defined for the wings 11, 12.

[0038] For each wing 11, 12, three distinct sections can be defined. From inboard to outboard, these sections are a wing first section 16, a wing transition section 18, and a wing second section 17.

[0039] The wing first portion 16 comprises a wing root 21 having a first leading edge sweep angle Λ 1,LE and a first leading edge sweep angle Λ 1,LE may or may not be constant along the entire first portion 16 of the wing. The first portion 16 of the wing has a first trailing edge sweep angle Λ 1,TE and a first trailing edge sweep angle Λ 1,TE may or may not be constant along the entire wing first portion 16. The wing first portion 16 generally has a relatively high thickness-to-chord ratio to create a large usable interior volume.

[0040] The second portion 17 of the wing has a second leading edge sweep angle Λ 2,LEand a second leading edge sweep angle Λ 2,LE may or may not be constant throughout the second portion of the wing. The second portion 17 of the wing has a second trailing edge sweep angle Λ 2,TE Also has a second trailing edge sweep angle Λ 2,TE may or may not be constant along the entire second portion of the wing. The thickness-to-chord ratio may be significantly smaller in the second portion 17 of the wing to increase aerodynamic performance.

[0041] As can be seen from the drawing, the first leading edge sweep angle Λ 1,LE is the second leading edge sweep angle Λ 2,LE and the first trailing edge sweep angle Λ is larger than 1,TE is the second trailing edge sweep angle Λ 2,TE This results in a first wing section 16 extending mostly aft and a second wing section extending mostly to the side. This configuration has been found to produce optimum conditions in terms of maneuverability due to the preferred location of the center of gravity, and optimum conditions in terms of lift to drag ratio due to the increased wing span.

[0042] Between the wing first section 16 and the wing second section 17 is the wing transition section 18. The transition section 18 begins at line 181, where the trailing edge sweep angle transitions from the first trailing edge sweep angle to the transitional trailing edge sweep angle. Looking in the streamwise direction, it is clear that line 181 is drawn in a direction parallel to the y-axis / forward flight, and the leading edge sweep angle also transitions from the transitional leading edge sweep angle to the second leading edge sweep angle at a relatively far outboard location, as indicated by line 182. It is between the two lines 181 and 182 that the transition section of the wing is defined. In the illustrated embodiment, the leading edge sweep angle Λ of the transition region is T,LE is the leading edge sweep angle Λ of the first part of the wing. 1,LE , but this is not a requirement. Also, in the illustrated embodiment, the trailing edge sweep angle Λ of the transition region is T,TE but the trailing edge sweep angle Λ of the second part of the wing 2,TE Although this is approximately equal to

[0043] Practical and theoretical experiments carried out over the last few years on previous Flying V designs have taught us that, among other things, the design of the wing transition section 18 is crucial for the performance of the entire aircraft 1. On the one hand, we want as much of the wing transition section 18 to be used as a payload volume, preferably as a pressurized compartment. On the other hand, the aerodynamic characteristics of this section 18 of the wing are important for the drag and lift generated by the aircraft 1. Since the wing transition section 18 must, quite literally, bridge the gap between the thick first section 16 of the wing and the thin second section 17 of the wing, the cross-sectional shape of the wing transition section 18 cannot be the same everywhere.

[0044] The inventors have found that such a gradual change in shape throughout the section may not be an optimal solution. Instead, from a structural perspective, an approach is proposed in which the pressurized wing skin 14 extends beyond the wing's first portion 16 into the wing's transition portion 18, where the pressurized section 13 remains at approximately the same height as the wing's first portion 16. When the end of the pressurized wing skin 14 is viewed from its trailing edge 143, initially, the aft-facing edge line 145 of the pressurized skin 14 follows the edge of the pressurized section 13. When the end of the pressurized wing section 13 is viewed from its leading edge 142, initially, its tip-facing edge 144 extends in the streamwise direction. At a specific point, here designated by reference numeral 146, the aft-facing edge line 145 and the tip-facing edge 144 meet and necessarily cut each other off. The exact spanwise location of the tip-facing edge 144, and therefore the exact spanwise location where the aft-facing edge line 145 is intercepted, may be a design variable influenced by, among other things, structural weight, payload volume, and aerodynamic performance, and may vary between different aircraft designs. However, the inclusion of a pressurized wing skin 14 extending into the transition section 18 of the wings 11, 12 and defined by the tip-facing edge 144 and the aft-facing edge line 145 allows for such optimization of these different design variables simultaneously and is believed to be a significant enhancement over the prior art.

[0045] As a result of the wing skin 14 being pressurized and defining the pressurized payload section 13 up to the point where the wing tip-facing end 144 is located, the wing shape of the wing transition section 18 can be relatively thick—in particular, just as thick as the wing first section—at least up to the aft-facing end line 145 of the pressurized wing skin 14. As a result, in combination with the significantly different wing sections that can be selected for the wing first section 16 and the wing second section 17, the entire wing section of the wing transition section 18 outboard of the wing tip-facing end 144 can be unique.

[0046] As primarily visible in Figure 2, the extended pressurized section 131 may be located within the wing 12. For example, the extended pressurized section 131 may be formed by a separate structure inside the unpressurized wing skin 15; i.e., the wing skin 15 itself may be unpressurized and positioned above the pressurized secondary structure 131, resulting in a skin-within-skin structure. Alternatively, the wing skin may be stiffened and pressurized to form the additional pressurized section 131. In such a case, the additional pressurized section 131 may be distinguished from the pressurized surface 14 by a rib or bulkhead extending downwardly from the wingtip-facing end 144 of the pressurized section 13, which physically separates the pressurized surface 14 from the additional pressurized section 131. However, the edge 144 facing the wingtip could just as well be defined by an imaginary surface 144 that distinguishes the main portion 13 of the pressurized compartment, which has a fairly constant interior height, from the more outboard extension 131 of the pressurized compartment, which has a rapidly decreasing interior height.

[0047] As particularly visible in Figure 2, an angle α can be defined between the aft-facing edge 145 of the pressurized wing skin 14 and the streamwise-facing, tip-facing edge 144 of the pressurized wing skin 14. Because the tip-facing edge 144 of the skin 14 is oriented ±2-3 degrees in the streamwise direction, the magnitude of the angle α depends primarily on the direction in which the aft-facing edge 145 of the pressurized surface 14 extends from the trailing edge 19 of the wing 12 to the leading edge 20 of the wing 12. Generally, this angle α is greater than 90°.

[0048] Also, most notably in FIG. 2, the aft-facing end 145 of the pressurized skin 14 may be positioned approximately perpendicular to the trailing edge 19 of the wing 12 when viewed from the trailing edge 19 .

[0049] Referring now to FIG. 3, the edge line 144 facing the wing tip is shown in a front view of the aircraft, where the local height of the wing skin, and therefore the local height of the pressurized section, can be seen better than in the top views of FIGS. 1 and 2. Shown in FIG. 3 is where the wing transition section 18 begins (looking spanwise from the root) and where the wing transition section ends (looking spanwise from the root). The inboard side of the wing transition section 18 is the first part of the wing; the outboard side of the wing transition section 18 is the second part of the wing. As indicated by the bold lines following the upper and lower surfaces of the wing, at the point where the wing transition section 18 begins, the height of the wing—and therefore the height of the pressurized section—can already begin to decrease slightly. The end 144 of the pressurized section is defined only at the point where the height reduction becomes more significant, for example, due to a step in the slope.

Claims

1. An aircraft (1) comprising a first wing (11) and a second wing (12), each of the first wing (11) and the second wing (12) comprising a pressurized compartment (13) defined by a pressurized wing skin (14) for receiving a payload; Each of the first wing (11) and the second wing (12) First leading edge sweep angle (Λ 1,LE ) and the first trailing edge sweep angle (Λ 1,TE a first portion (16) of the wing having a Second leading edge sweep angle (Λ 2,LE ) and the second trailing edge sweep angle (Λ 2,TE a second portion (17) of the wing having a a wing transition section (18) connecting the wing first section (16) and the wing second section (17) to each other; The second leading edge sweep angle and the second trailing edge sweep angle are each a ratio of the first leading edge sweep angle (Λ 1,LE ) and the first trailing edge sweep angle (Λ 1,TE ) and is different in size, The wing transition portion (18) is defined by the first trailing edge sweep angle (Λ) at the trailing edges (19) of the first and second wings (11, 12) when viewed in the span direction (y). 1,TE ) is the transitional trailing edge sweep angle (Λ T,TE ) and a straight line (181) oriented in the streamwise direction passing through the point where the first blade and the second blade (11, 12) transition to the leading edge sweep angle (Λ T,LE ) is the second leading edge sweep angle (Λ 2,LE ) and a straight line (182) oriented in the flow direction, passing through a point where the line transitions to the line (182), the pressurized section (13) is disposed within the wing first section (16) and within the wing transition section (18); the pressurized wing skin (14) defining the pressurized section (13) has a wingtip-facing end (144) and an aft-facing end (145); the aft-facing end (145) of the pressurized wing skin (14), when viewed from the trailing edges (19) of the first and second wings (11, 12), follows the end of the pressurized section (13) and is at least partially located within the transition section (18) of the wing; The wingtip-facing end (144) of the pressurized section (13), when viewed from the leading edges (20) of the first and second wings (11, 12), is located within the wing transition section (18) and extends in the flow direction until meeting the aft-facing end (145). aircraft.

2. The second leading edge sweep angle (Λ 2,LE ) is the first leading edge sweep angle (Λ 1,LE ) and / or The second trailing edge sweep angle (Λ 2,TE ) is the first trailing edge sweep angle (Λ 1,TE ) is smaller than 10. The aircraft of claim 1.

3. 3. An aircraft according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the profile of the second wing portion (17) has a thickness / chord (t / c) ratio that is smaller than the profile of the first wing portion (16).

4. 4. An aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the root (141) of the first wing (11) and the root (141) of the second wing (12) are connected to each other, and the aircraft is a Flying V aircraft.

5. The transition leading edge sweep angle (Λ T,LE ) is the first leading edge sweep angle (Λ 1,LE 5. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the air mass is approximately equal to

6. The transition trailing edge sweep angle (Λ T,TE ) is the second trailing edge sweep angle (Λ 2,TE 6. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the air mass is approximately equal to

7. 7. An aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the wing transition section (18) comprises an extended pressurized section (131) at a spanwise position beyond the wingtip-facing end (144) of the pressurized section (13).

8. An aircraft as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the wing first portion (16) comprises a wing root (21).

9. An aircraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the second wing portion (17) comprises a wing tip (22).

10. 10. An aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, viewed in the span direction (y), the contour of the wing transition section (18) beyond the wingtip-facing end (144) of the pressurized section (13) is different compared to the contour of the wing transition section (18) before the wingtip-facing end (144) of the pressurized section (13).

11. 11. An aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein an angle (α) between the wingtip-facing end (144) of the pressurized section (13) and the aft-facing end (145) of the pressurized wing skin (14) is an obtuse angle.

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