Back to results
US 11,975,814 B2Granted
System and method to actively morph an aircraft while in flight for sonic boom suppression and drag minimization
AssigneeBoeing Ace Collateral Agent, LLC
InventorTom Vice
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system that optimizes the shape or configuration of an aircraft to minimize ground overpressure shock strength while in supersonic flight over speed restricted terrain and to morph to an optimized configuration for drag minimization while over unrestricted terrain.
Claims20
A system to actively trade drag for sonic boom suppression of an aircraft while in supersonic flight, the system comprising:
- an aircraft shape change apparatus configured to control a shape of the aircraft while in flight to have a first shape for reducing the sonic boom at ground level, to have a second shape for reducing drag on the aircraft, and to have a third shape that is in between the first shape and the second shape, the aircraft shape change apparatus to control the shape of the aircraft by changing an area distribution of structures of the aircraft;
- and
- machine-readable instructions;
- at least one processor to execute the machine-readable instructions to:
- cause the aircraft shape change apparatus to change the aircraft to the first shape when the aircraft is flying over a first area in which a ground level sonic boom is not permitted,
- cause the aircraft shape change apparatus to change the aircraft to the second shape when the aircraft is flying over a second area in which a ground level sonic boom is permitted;
- and
- cause the aircraft shape change apparatus to change the aircraft to the third shape when the aircraft is approaching a border between the first and second areas, wherein the aircraft is maintained in the third shape until the aircraft reaches the second area.
5 more elements
A system to configure an aircraft while in flight, the system comprising:
- an aircraft shape change apparatus configured to control a shape of the aircraft while in flight, the aircraft shape change apparatus to control the shape of the aircraft by changing an area distribution of structures of the aircraft;
- and
- a flight management controller configured to instruct the aircraft shape change apparatus to adjust the shape of the aircraft to a first shape when the aircraft is flying over an area in which a ground level sonic boom is not permitted, to a second shape when the aircraft is flying over an area in which a ground level sonic boom is permitted, and to a third shape that is between the first and second shapes when the aircraft is approaching a border between the first and second areas, wherein the aircraft is maintained in the third shape until the aircraft reaches the second area.
A method of morphing an aircraft while the aircraft is in flight, the method comprising:
- receiving data representative of a sonic boom property of an area over which the aircraft is flying;
- determining, with a processor, a desired aircraft state based on the sonic boom property of the area;
- and
- instructing, with the processor, an aircraft shape change apparatus to adjust a shape of the aircraft to achieve the desired aircraft state, the aircraft shape change apparatus to adjust the shape to a first shape when the aircraft is flying over an area in which a ground level sonic boom is not permitted, to a second shape when the aircraft is flying over an area in which a ground level sonic boom is permitted, and to a third shape that is between the first and second shapes when the aircraft is approaching a border between the first and second areas, wherein the aircraft is maintained in the third shape until the aircraft reaches the second area.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.