An exemplary aircraft includes a wing positioned below a vertical rotor, the wing extending to an outboard end, and an anhedral winglet extending from the outboard end through an angular transition to a tip, the anhedral winglet having an external surface exposed to the rotor downwash and the external surface is contoured to generate local wing lift in response to the rotor downwash.

A method for producing an aerodynamic element for an aircraft, including a wall which is covered, at least partially, by a printed film including a plurality of ribs and/or grooves, the method including: providing a raw film made of a deformable material which is devoid of grooves and ribs; providing a pressure plate which includes a face provided with ribs and/or grooves complementary to the ribs and/or grooves of the printed film; placing said raw film on the wall of the element; positioning the pressure plate on the raw film, the printed side of the pressure plate facing the raw film; and a forming step during which the raw film is bonded with the wall of the component and during which the raw film is shaped by cooperation with the pressure plate to obtain the printed film including the ribs and/or the grooves.

Disclosed are methods and apparatuses for mitigating the formation of concentrated wake vortex structures generated from lifting or thrust-generating bodies and maneuvering control surfaces wherein the use of contour surface geometries promotes vortex-mixing of high and low flow fluids. The methods and apparatuses can be combined with various drag reduction techniques, such as the use of riblets of various types and/or compliant surfaces (passive and active). Such combinations form unique structures for various fluid dynamic control applications to suppress transiently growing forms of boundary layer disturbances in a manner that significantly improves performance and has improved control dynamics.

The invention discloses an aircraft generating a larger lift from its interior. The fluid channel inside the aircraft communicates with the engine and the ports on the upper surface of the outer shell. With the powerful suction of the engine, the fluid on the upper surface of the outer shell is quickly sucked into the fluid channel via respective ports under conditions of long path, large area, high speed and low air pressure, which results in large lift from the interior of the aircraft. In the course of generating the lift, the fluid resistances of the fluid wall and the fluid hole are sucked into the fluid channel through the ports at the front and the surrounding area of the aircraft, then high-speed fluid is emitted from the rear port. This approach contributes greatly to the transformation of the existing aircraft. The unified big wing significantly improves the lift, the speed and the carrying capacity of the existing aircraft with lowered energy consumption.

A system and method for controlling hypersonic boundary layer transition for a hypersonic flight vehicle are disclosed. The reduction or elimination of hot streaks that naturally occurs in the boundary layer transition process during hypersonic flight is achieved by utilizing various techniques. One such technique utilizes roughness elements to counteract streak development. The techniques for reducing or eliminating the streaks are tailored such that the nonlinear stages of transition are profoundly altered. This results in significant drag reduction, and consequently an increase in range of the vehicle, and also a reduction of the weight penalty due to the Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) as less protective material would be required, thus allowing for an increased payload and/or range of the vehicle.

Provided is the film that can reduce aerodynamic drag and enhance aerodynamic performance. The film according to an embodiment is a film (1) to be attached to a moving body that moves in a predetermined moving direction, extends along a second direction (D2) being the moving direction, and includes recesses and protrusions (2A) configured to enhance aerodynamic performance of the moving body on a surface of the film.

A profiled element used is disclosed for generating a force, the profiled element comprising a material having an active surface; a plurality of cavities located on the active surface of the material, the plurality of cavities comprising pin holes, each pin hole having an opening of a micrometric size on the active surface and a depth of a micrometric size greater than its diameter; wherein each pin hole is hermetically sealed on the opposite side of the cavity; and further wherein an airflow circulation against the active surface of the material causes a pressure change on the active surface and inside each of the plurality of cavities thereby generating a force.

A cross-flow fan includes a plurality of fan blades provided to be circumferentially spaced apart from each other. The fan blade has an inner edge portion arranged on the radially inner side to/from which air flows in/out, and an outer edge portion arranged on the radially outer side to/from which air flows in/out. Fan blade has a blade surface extending between the inner edge portion and the outer edge portion. The blade surface includes a pressure surface arranged on the rotation direction side of the cross-flow fan and a suction surface arranged on the back side of the pressure surface. When cut along a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the cross-flow fan, the fan blade has a blade cross-sectional shape in which a concave portion concave from the pressure surface is formed.

A riblet forming system incorporates a gantry which supports a laser and a paint applicator is positioned and moved over an aerodynamic surface. A computer control system is connected for control of the gantry on a predetermined path over the aerodynamic surface and further connected to the laser to control cutting a riblet topography along the predetermined path in a predeposited paint layer.

An air inlet for a flight vehicle engine includes at least one fin, at least partially upstream of a throat of the engine. The fin protrudes into a flow channel, extending beyond a boundary layer into the main airstream in the inlet. The fin causes mixing in the flow, bringing high-momentum flow into areas of the flow channel containing low-momentum flow by aggregating the boundary layer and causing it to lift from the surface. The fin may have a width and/or height that varies along its length in the flow direction, which may allow it to shape the flow around it in predictable ways, without resulting in excessive drag.