Aircraft fuselage having a rear-end opening for cargo dispatch
AssigneeBAE SYSTEMS plc
InventorHoward R Apps
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An aircraft fuselage 10 comprising a cargo storage compartment 18, a rear bulkhead 16 at the rear of the compartment for withstanding internal air pressure in the fuselage, a closeable opening 20 in the rear bulkhead 18 through which an elongate item of cargo 25 can be passed, and an opening 26 in the rear of the fuselage 10 through which the said item 25 passes to be despatched from the aircraft with the fuselage 10 de-pressurised.
Claims20
A modification to a pressurizable aircraft fuselage for permitting in flight dispatch of an elongate item, said aircraft including a cargo storage compartment for storing at least one elongate item having a relatively small transverse dimension compared to its length and a rear bulkhead for the compartment for withstanding internal air pressure in the fuselage, said modification including:
- at least one closeable opening in the rear bulkhead through which said at least one elongate item can be passed, said at least one closeable bulkhead opening being sized to accommodate said relatively small transverse dimension of said at least one elongate item;
- and
- at least one closeable opening in said fuselage rearward of said rear bulkhead through which said at least one elongate item passes to be despatched from the aircraft in flight with the fuselage de-pressurized.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.