Aircraft thickness/camber control device for low sonic boom

A supersonic cruise aircraft comprising:

• a body that extends along a longitudinal axis forward and aft and that has a concentrated source of compression on a lower body surface, the body having an area distribution that matches a low sonic boom signature;
• a structural member configured to coupled to the body at a position forward of the concentrated source of compression;
• and
• a control element coupled to the structural member that controls the structural member to adjust thickness/camber of the body to cancel the far-field effect of the concentrated source of compression and adjusts the structural member in off-design conditions that cause the concentrated source of compression to generate a spillage shock larger than a baseline cruise configuration so that the expansion generated around the structural member effectively reduces the equivalent area distribution ahead of the shock.

A supersonic cruise aircraft comprising:

• a fuselage that extends along a longitudinal axis forward and aft and has a concentrated source of compression;
• means coupled to the fuselage at a position forward of the concentrated source of compression for adjusting thickness/camber of the fuselage whereby a local expansion is created that counters the concentrated source of compression;
• and
• means for controlling the fuselage thickness/camber adjusting means to cause the concentrated source of compression to generate a spillage shock larger than a baseline cruise configuration so that the far-field effect of the controlled fuselage thickness/camber adjusting means cancels the far-field effect resulting from the spillage shock.

An aircraft comprising:

• an aircraft body in a supersonic cruise configuration with an area distribution that matches a low sonic boom signature;
• a structural member coupled to the aircraft body at a position forward of a concentrated source of compression on the aircraft body;
• and
• a controller adapted to adjust the structural member in off-design conditions that cause the concentrated source of compression to generate a spillage shock larger than a baseline cruise configuration so that the far-field effect of the adjusted structural member cancels the far-field effect resulting from the spillage shock.