Vortex tranquilizer
AssigneeJuanita June Haworth
InventorFloy Haworth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The purpose of this invention is to influence the behavior of the airflow near the wingtip, where the higher pressure air from below the wing swirls up over the end of the wing, to arrive at the lower pressure area above the wing. This process will be discouraged because of the high degree of drag it creates and the flow of air rearward will be encouraged. This flow should continue as smooth as possible to the trailing edge of the wing and up and out to the pencil point end of the appendants.
Claims1
In a heavier than air aircraft having wings, the improvement being a vortex drag reducing device that reduces drag by said device acting as a barrier fore to aft on the wingtips lower surface to discourage lateral or oblique mevement of air at said wingtips, and the air retained on the inboard side of said barrier moves rearward along a convex curved inboard surface of said device which produces progressively less dense air rearwardly to provide a path of least resistance rearwardly which influences the airflow to move smoothly from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wingtip, where remaining turbulent airflow is led rearward and upward by the portion of said device extending rearward from the trailing edge of the wingtip, said device being:
- smoothly and securely attached to the lower surface of the wingtip;
- positioned fore to aft near the outer end of said wingtip;
- with a straight outboard surface when viewed from directly below;
- with a fore to aft mildly convex curved inboard surface when viewed from directly below, said inboard surface joins the lower surface of the wingtip at a right angle;
- the outboard surface is rounded, smoothed and streamlined and the inboard surface of said device remains vertically flat along its length until said device extends rearward from the trailing edge of the wingtip, then said extended portion of said device is tapered uniformally;
- said device is positioned with its most forward point at a location where the wingtip has maximum thickness;
- the leading edge of said device angles downward abruptly from the wingtips lower surface until said device has attained full height, with said height being substantially equivalent to the thickness of the wingtip at this point, and said angled leading edge is knife sharp;
- approximately one third of the total length of said device forms an extension rearward from the trailing edge of the wingtip and said extension of said device curves upward and tapers to a pencil sharp point.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.