Systems and methods for controlling an intake inlet shape of a propulsion system air intake

A propulsion system for an aircraft, the propulsion system comprising:

• a gas turbine engine including a propeller, the propeller configured for rotation about a rotational axis of the propulsion system, the gas turbine engine forming a core flow path;
• an air intake configured to direct air into the core flow path, the air intake including an air inlet duct and a flow control device, the air inlet duct including an intake inlet disposed downstream of the propeller, the intake inlet including a top side, a bottom side, a first lateral side, and a second lateral side, each of the first lateral side and the second lateral side extending between and to the top side and the bottom side, the flow control device disposed inside the air inlet duct at the first lateral side, the flow control device configured to form an asymmetrical shape of the intake inlet at the first lateral side relative to the second lateral side, and the flow control device includes:
• an inflatable boot and a fluid regulator, the inflatable boot disposed at the first lateral side, the fluid regulator in fluid communication with the inflatable boot, the fluid regulator configured to selectively position the inflatable boot in a fully inflated position, a fully deflated position, and a plurality of intermediate inflation positions between the fully inflated position and the fully deflated position to control a shape of the intake inlet;
• and
• an engine control system, the engine control system in signal communication with the fluid regulator, the engine control system including a processor in communication with a non-transitory memory storing instructions, which instructions when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
• determine an air flow condition for the air intake based on a rotation speed of the propeller and a rotation direction of the propeller;
• and
• control the fluid regulator to selectively position the inflatable boot to control the shape of the intake inlet based on the determined air flow condition.