Inflatable airfoil device

An airfoil device for attachment to the wing of an aircraft, said airfoil device comprising:

• a lift-enhancing chamber which is inflatable to provide a lift-enhancing airfoil geometry to the wing;
• deicing chambers which are inflatable to provide deicing forces to remove ice accumulation on the wing;
• and.
• chamber-defining layers which define the lift-enhancing chamber and the deicing chamber;
• wherein two of the chamber-defining layers define the lift-enhancing chamber and another two of the chamber-defining layers define the deicing chambers.

An airfoil device for attachment to the wing of an aircraft, said airfoil device comprising:

• a lift-enhancing chamber which is inflatable to provide a lift-enhancing airfoil geometry to the wing;
• deicing chambers which are inflatable to provide deicing forces to remove ice accumulation on the wing;
• chamber-defining layers which define the lift-enhancing chamber and the deicing chamber;
• an inner lift chamber-defining layer made of a non-stretchable material and another lift chamber-defining layer made of a stretchable material, the lift chamber-defining layers being joined together to define the lift-enhancing chamber;
• and
• an outer deicing chamber-defining layer made of a stretchable material and another deicing chamber-defining layer also made of a stretchable material, the deicing chamber-defining layers being joined together to define the deicing chambers.

An airfoil device for attachment to the wing of an aircraft, said airfoil device comprising:

• a lift-enhancing chamber which is inflatable to provide a lift-enhancing airfoil geometry to the wing;
• deicing chambers which are inflatable to provide deicing forces to remove ice accumulation on the wing;
• and
• a base layer adapted to be secured to the wing and bonded to the innermost lift chamber-defining layer and a cover layer made of an extensible material and bonded to the outermost deicing chamber-defining layer.

In combination an airfoil device and an aircraft, the airfoil device being attached to a wing of the aircraft, wherein the airfoil device comprises:

• a lift-enhancing chamber which is inflatable to provide a lift-enhancing airfoil geometry to the wing;
• deicing chambers which are inflatable to provide deicing forces to remove ice accumulation on the wing;
• an inner lift chamber-defining layer made of a non-stretchable material and another lift chamber-defining layer made of a stretchable material, the lift chamber-defining layers being joined together to define the lift-enhancing chamber;
• and
• an outer deicing chamber-defining layer made of stretchable material and another deicing chamber-defining layer also made of a stretchable material, the deicing chamber-defining layers being joined together to define the deicing chambers;
• and
• a base layer bonded to the inner lift chamber-defining layer and attached to the wing.

A method of operating an aircraft comprising the steps of:

• installing an airfoil device, comprising a lift-enhancing chamber which is inflatable to provide a lift-enhancing airfoil geometry to the wing and deicing chambers which are inflatable to provide deicing forces to remove ice accumulation on the wing, on a wing of the aircraft;
• inflating the lift-enhancing chamber to enhance lift;
• inflating the deicing chambers to remove ice accumulation;
• and
• maintaining the lift-enhancing chamber in a deflated condition during inflation of the deicing chambers;
• wherein said maintaining step comprises applying suction to the lift-enhancing chamber to maintain it in the deflated condition.

A method of operating an aircraft comprising the steps of:

• installing an airfoil device, comprising a lift-enhancing chamber which is inflatable to provide a lift-enhancing airfoil geometry to the wing and deicing chambers which are inflatable to provide deicing forces to remove ice accumulation on the wing, on a wing of the aircraft;
• inflating the lift-enhancing chamber to enhance lift;
• inflating the deicing chambers to remove ice accumulation;
• and
• maintaining the lift-enhancing chamber and the deicing chambers in a deflated condition when said inflating steps are not being performed;
• wherein said maintaining step comprises applying suction to the lift-enhancing chamber and the deicing chambers to maintain them in their deflated conditions.

A method of operating an aircraft comprising the steps of:

• installing an airfoil device, comprising a lift-enhancing chamber which is inflatable to provide a lift-enhancing airfoil geometry to the wing and deicing chambers which are inflatable to provide deicing forces to remove ice accumulation on the wing, on a wing of the aircraft;
• inflating the lift-enhancing chamber to enhance lift;
• and
• inflating the deicing chambers to remove ice accumulation;
• wherein said step of inflating the lift-enhancing chamber is performed during take-off and/or landing and wherein said step of inflating the deicing chambers is performed between take-off and landing.

A method of operating an aircraft comprising the steps of:

• installing an airfoil device, comprising a lift-enhancing chamber which is inflatable to provide a lift-enhancing airfoil geometry to the wing and deicing chambers which are inflatable to provide deicing forces to remove ice accumulation on the wing, on each of the wings of the aircraft;
• inflating the lift-enhancing chambers to enhance lift during take-off while maintaining the deicing chambers in a deflated condition;
• deflating the lift-enhancing chamber after take-off;
• and
• inflating the deicing chambers to remove ice accumulation after take-off while maintaining the lift-enhancing chambers in a deflated condition.