Aircraft wings and fuel tanks

An aircraft wing assembly including a port wing which, in use, carries a port engine comprising at least one rotary disc, a starboard wing which, in use, carries a starboard engine comprising at least one rotary disc, a central wing element linking the port and starboard wings, and a plurality of fuel tanks within the wing assembly, there being an at-risk zone defined by the combination of

• a) a first region forwards of a vertical plane positioned such that when the starboard engine is fitted to the starboard wing the vertical plane extends from the centre of the rearmost rotary disc of the starboard engine backwards and towards the port wing and is separated from the plane of the starboard rotary disc by a dispersion angle, and
• b) a second region forwards of a vertical plane positioned such that when the port engine is fitted to the port wing the vertical plane extends from the centre of the rearmost rotary disc of the port engine backwards and towards the starboard wing and is separated from the plane of the port rotary disc by a dispersion angle,
• wherein
• the dispersion angle is between 2° and 10°
• the sum area defined by the footprint when viewed in plan of all of the fuel tanks in the wing assembly that cover a region outside of the at-risk zone and that do not extend into the at-risk zone is greater than 75% of the area defined by the footprint when viewed in plan of the volume in the wing assembly available for fuel tanks and outside of the at-risk zone.

A method of manufacturing an aircraft wing assembly, the wing assembly including:

• a port wing which, in use, carries a port engine comprising at least one rotary disc,
• a starboard wing which, in use, carries a starboard engine comprising at least one rotary disc,
• a central wing element linking the port and starboard wings, and
• a plurality of fuel tanks, wherein the method includes the steps of
• i) setting an at-risk zone in consideration of the regions at risk of damage in the event of engine failure,
• ii) setting the locations of one or more fuel tank boundaries in consideration of the shape and size of the at-risk zone,
• iii) providing a wing assembly comprising a port wing, a starboard wing, and a central wing element, the wing assembly defining an internal cavity, and
• iv) providing one or more fuel tank boundaries and dividing up the interior of the wing assembly by means of locating the tank boundaries at the locations so set.