Month in the Patent Office

Abstract

An aircraft consists of an annular tunnel‐shaped wing with a propulsion plant arranged to produce a thrust along or evenly balanced about the axis of the wing, together with devices 7 for exerting an aerodynamic control action transversely to the axis. The wing is the only main supporting surface and is preferably of symmetrical aerofoil section. A fuselage 4 is connected to the wing by radial arms 5 and carries the propulsion plant, which may be of any type, the arrangement shown consisting of a pair of propellers, 2, 3 working in a stream of hot gas from an engine 14. The control members 7 consist of flaps which may be projected from an auxiliary annular wing 6 at the front of the machine. Stability is ensured by arranging that the chords of the axial wing sections converge slightly to the rear in the case of a subsonic aircraft, and towards the front for a supersonic machine. In the latter case stability at subsonic speeds is obtained by fitting devices, such as flaps, which modify the airflow conditions in such a way as to result in a virtual convergence of the chords towards the rear.

Citation

(1956), "Month in the Patent Office", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 28 No. 10, pp. 371-371. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb032753