GB814450A - Improvements in tail-first aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

814,450. Controlling aircraft. ROE & CO. Ltd., A. V. March 9, 1955 [March 15, 1954], No. 7413/54. Class 4. An aircraft is provided with a lifting surface in the form of a nose plane ahead of the centre of gravity, the nose plane being arranged so that its configuration can be changed during flight such as by alteration of its span, area or sweep back, or any two or all three of these features. Fig. 1 shows a tail-less aircraft provided with a pair of pivoted nose planes c which are normally retracted in subsonic flight and extended in supersonic flight. Fig. 5 shows an aircraft provided with a tail and with the retractable nose planes c. The nose planes may be retracted by a jack, and for additional safety a duplicated retraction system may be provided; alternatively or additionally emergency means of either explosive or mechanical form may be used to jettison the nose plane should it fail to retract. The nose plane may be such that its incidence can be varied in flight, or control may be provided by extension or retraction of lift increasing devices such as slots and/or leading or trailing edge flaps or by sucking air through the surface or by blowing air out of the surface. Control of the nose plane may be manual or automatic.