Control surface for an aircraft and control structure for an aircraft with anti-flutter balance weight
AssigneeAirbus Operations S.L.U.
InventorsAlberto Balsa-Gonzalez, Miguel Ángel Mendez Rodriguez, Robert Kobierecki, Juan Antonio Sánchez Ruiz
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Abstract
A leading edge (3) of a control surface (1) for an aircraft includes a balance weight (6) attached to the forward-most region of the leading edge (3). The control surface (1) rotates with respect to the stabilizer (2) around a hinge line (5). The balance weight (6) is ahead of and adjacent to the most frontal portion (7) of the leading edge (3) of the control surface (1) are is inside the trailing edge of the stabilizer (2). This arrangement allows to have an anti-flutter balance weight without any impact in aerodynamic drag.
Claims20
A balance weight and control surface assembly for an aircraft comprising:
- a control surface including a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein the control surface pivots about a spanwise hinge line, and the leading edge includes a first frontal portion and a second frontal portion spaced from the first frontal portion along a spanwise direction of the control surface;
- and
- a balance weight mounted to the first frontal portion of the leading edge of the control surface,
- wherein an exposed curved surface of the balance weight is aligned, along the spanwise direction of the control surface, with an exposed curved surface of the second frontal portion of the leading edge of the control surface, and
- wherein the balance weight is a separable component from the control surface.
A stabilizer of an aircraft comprising:
- a leading edge;
- a torsion box attached to and rearward of the leading edge, wherein a rear portion of the torsion box include an upper and lower trailing edges;
- a control surface including leading edge and a trailing edge and mounted to the rear portion of the torsion box, wherein the control surface pivots about a spanwise hinge line of the stabilizer and the leading edge of the control surface is between the upper and lower trailing edges of the torsion box, wherein the leading edge of the control surface includes a first frontal portion and a second frontal portion extending forward of the first frontal portion;
- and
- a balance weight releasably mounted to the first frontal portion of the leading edge of the control surface and positioned between the upper and lower trailing edges of the torsion box, wherein a curved exposed surface of the balance weight is aligned with a curved exposed surface of the second frontal portion along a spanwise direction of the control surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.