A system and a method for reducing drag on the aft-fuselage of an aircraft are provided, which system and method utilize at least one (inlet provided on each side of the aft-fuselage of an aircraft for reducing drag -on the aft-fuselage, which finlets are (i) positioned at the rear half of an upswept portion of the aft-fuselage starting at a breakline, (ii) positioned in the path of the vortices generated by the aft-fuselage, and (iii) oriented at 1 to 9 degrees angle relative to the local airflow about the aft-fuselage of the aircraft to straighten the airflow about the aft-fuselage. In addition, the finlets generate an induced secondary vortex having an opposite rotation direction relative to the rotation direction of the vortices generated by the aft-fuselage, thereby counteracting the vortices generated by the aft-fuselage.

A method is provided. An airship is maneuvered to a desired location and oriented with the thruster such that ambient wind is traveling in a direction that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. The airflow from the ambient wind is straightened with the flow straightener to generate a substantially laminar flow. The turbine is engaged with the airflow generated by the ambient wind to generate electricity, and the electricity generated by the turbine is rectified with the rectifier and stored in the storage array.

An aircraft includes an airframe having an extending tail, and a counter rotating, coaxial main rotor assembly located at the airframe including an upper rotor assembly and a lower rotor assembly. A translational thrust system is positioned at the extending tail and providing translational thrust to the airframe. An active vibration control (AVC) system is located and the airframe and includes a plurality of AVC actuators configured to generate forces to dampen aircraft component vibration, and an AVC controller configured to transmit control signals to the plurality of AVC actuators thereby triggering force generation by the plurality of AVC actuators. A method of damping vibration of an aircraft includes receiving a vibration signal at an AVC controller, communicating a control signal from the AVC controller to a plurality of AVC actuators, generating a force at the AVC actuators, and damping vibration of the aircraft via the generated force.

A method of controlling noise of an aircraft includes storing a plurality of predefined noise modes; receiving a selection of a selected noise mode from the plurality of predefined noise modes, the selected noise mode identifying at least one operational parameter; and controlling the aircraft in response to the at least one operational parameter.

An apparatus and method that improves the operation of aerospace planes or rockets having an integrated flute and hat components whereby the flute functions as a hypersonic refrigeration engine and the hat as a flat plate heat exchanger to achieve an isothermal compression of the incipient hypersonic air in front of the nosecone to reduce hypersonic vibrations during flight, these improvements allow for the reduction in temperature during flight operation allowing for improved cooling of the aerospace plane or rocket.

A structural component for a vehicle has a surface with a riblet structure. The riblet structure includes a plurality of grooves, including a first groove having a first longitudinal section forming a first angle with a main longitudinal direction of the structural component. The first angle is larger than 0 and the main longitudinal direction corresponds to a flow direction of a fluid along the surface of the structural component.

An aircraft is provided including an airframe, an extending tail, and a counter rotating, coaxial main rotor assembly including an upper rotor assembly with an upper blade and a lower rotor assembly with a lower blade. A first antenna in one of upper blade and the lower blade, and a second antenna in the other of the upper blade and the lower blade. An oscillator to apply an excitation signal to the first antenna. A blade proximity monitor to monitor a magnitude of the excitation signal and an output signal from the second antenna to determine a distance between the upper blade and the lower blade.

An aircraft includes a fuselage having a wing profile. An apparatus for thrust reversal is disposed on the tail of the aircraft. Air feed takes place from the outside, by way of a braking flap with an air intake channel and/or from a propelling machine.

An aircraft includes a fuselage and first and second pairs of aerofoils, the aerofoils of each pair extend from opposing sides of the fuselage. Each aerofoil includes a first lift body and a second lift body which is arranged behind the first lift body in a direction of flow of the aerofoil. The second lift body is pivotable relative to the first lift body between a cruising flight position in which both lift bodies together define an elongate and substantially continuous cross section of the aerofoil in the direction of flow, and a take-off/landing position in which the second lift body is angled downwards relative to the first lift body in order to increase a lift of the aerofoil. At least one engine is arranged on the second lift body of at least one of the first and second pairs of aerofoils.

The application discloses a vertical take-off and landing aircraft based on variable rotor-wing technology and dual rotor-wing layout. A main aerodynamic surface adopts the design of dual blade variable rotor-wings, and may be switched between a rotor wing and a fixed wing configuration along with variation of flight speed; based on variable rotor-wing technology and dual rotor-wing layout, power requirements for a power system are greatly reduced while vertical take-off and landing and high-speed level flight are realized; meanwhile, through coordinated linkage with the fuselage and actuating mechanism devices, better flight efficiency and maneuverability are obtained in the entire flight envelope. The aircraft has good hover and low-speed performance, but has certain requirements for apron parking facilities, so it is more suitable for use in fixed sites with limited space or carried on low-speed vehicles to complete various aviation tasks such as atmospheric detection.