Aircraft with a wing tip comprising a fuel pod
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorsRoger Laguia-Barnola, Matthew Noel Orchard, Norman Wood
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An aircraft is disclosed having a wing, the wing having a connection interface at the tip of the wing, and the wing being interchangeable between a first configuration in which a first wing tip is connected to the connection interface, and a second configuration in which a second wing tip is connected to the connection interface to replace the first wing tip. The second wing tip comprises a fuel pod for carrying additional fuel, and a wing tip device for improving aerodynamic efficiency. The wing may be designed for performance in both configurations.
Claims10
A method of increasing the range of an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of:
- having a wing of the aircraft configured in a first configuration in which a first wing tip is connected to a connection interface on the tip of the wing, the first configuration being designed for use during a first mission profile having a first range,
- identifying a second mission profile, and
- when the aircraft is on the ground, modifying the wing to a second configuration, in which second configuration a second wing tip is connected to the connection interface to replace the first wing tip, the second wing tip comprising a fuel pod for carrying fuel and a wing tip device for improving aerodynamic efficiency,
- such that in the second configuration the aircraft can fly a second mission profile having a second range, greater than the first range, the fuel pod being arranged to carry additional fuel for that second mission such that the payload in the first and second configurations can remain constant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.