Rotorcraft having fuel tanks mounted in suspension under a load-bearing middle floor of the fuselage of the rotorcraft

A rotorcraft having a fuel feed unit for a power plant of the rotorcraft, the power plant including a fuel-burning engine, the rotorcraft including a fuselage extending longitudinally between the front and the rear of the rotorcraft and comprising a covering and members for stiffening the covering, the rotorcraft comprising:

• a longitudinal succession of transverse frames locally defining a transverse profile of the fuselage, together with longitudinal stiffeners for stiffening the covering;
• and
• an upper floor securely engaged with at least two of the frames, forming at least part of a middle segment of the fuselage located between a cockpit and a tail boom, the upper floor carrying at least one main rotor for providing the rotorcraft at least with lift;
• the fuel feed unit including a fuel feed assembly for feeding the engine with fuel,the fuel feed assembly comprising:
• a fuel tank suspended by at least one load-bearing attachment member inside a lower compartment of the fuselage situated under a middle floor separating the lower compartment from an upper compartment forming cabin space of the rotorcraft therebetween;
• and
• a feeder immersed in the tank, the feeder having at least one supply circuit for supplying the feeder with fuel from the tank and having a feed circuit for feeding the engine with fuel from the feeder;
• wherein the lower compartment is fitted with at least one non-load-bearing plates for stabilizing the suspended support of the tank by the middle floor and serving as a reinforcing element to stiffen the tank and prevent deformation in shape;
• wherein the middle floor is a load-bearing floor securely engaged with the at least two of the frames, the lower compartment being free of the covering over a lower face of the fuselage, which is open to an exterior of the fuselage, thereby providing the lower compartment with an open bottom that associates the exterior with an interior of the fuselage, the tank being suspended interiorly from a lower face of the middle floor that forms a suspension anchor member for the tank, the tank being located within the lower compartment and accessible from the exterior of the fuselage via the open bottom.

A rotorcraft having a fuel feed unit for a power plant of the rotorcraft, the power plant including a fuel-burning engine, the rotorcraft including a fuselage extending longitudinally between the front and the rear of the rotorcraft and having a covering, the rotorcraft comprising:

• a longitudinal succession of transverse frames locally defining a transverse profile of the fuselage, together with longitudinal stiffeners for stiffening the covering;
• and
• an upper floor securely engaged with at least two middle frames of the succession of transverse frames to form at least part of a middle segment of the fuselage located between a cockpit and a tail boom, the upper floor carrying at least one main substantially vertical rotor;
• the fuel feed unit including a fuel feed assembly for feeding the engine with fuel, the fuel feed assembly comprising:
• a fuel tank suspended by at least one attachment member inside at least one lower compartment of the fuselage situated under a middle floor separating the at least one lower compartment from at least one upper compartment forming cabin space of the rotorcraft therebetween;
• and
• a feeder disposed in the tank, the feeder having at least one supply circuit for supplying the feeder with fuel from the tank and having a feed circuit for feeding the engine with fuel from the feeder;
• a plurality of plates cooperating with the transverse frames and an upper wall of the tank to inhibit relative movement of the fuselage and the tank;
• wherein the middle floor is a load-bearing floor securely engaged with the at least two middle frames, the lower compartment being free of the covering over a lower face of the fuselage, which is open to the outside, thereby providing the lower compartment with an open bottom that is open to the outside of the fuselage, the tank being suspended from the lower face of the middle floor that forms a suspension anchor member for the tank, the tank being accessible from outside the fuselage via the open bottom.