초록 ▼

An air inlet provides air to an air consuming system of an aircraft, such as an auxiliary power unit, which consumes ram air during flight and which sucks in ambient outside air during ground operations of the aircraft. The inlet opening is flush with the outer surface of the fuselage skin. An air c

An air inlet provides air to an air consuming system of an aircraft, such as an auxiliary power unit, which consumes ram air during flight and which sucks in ambient outside air during ground operations of the aircraft. The inlet opening is flush with the outer surface of the fuselage skin. An air channel extends from the opening and is recessed into the fuselage. An air inlet lip bounds the downstream edge of the inlet opening. To prevent the formation of an airflow separation bubble in the air channel when air is sucked into the inlet during ground operations of the aircraft, an air guide element is arranged adjacent to the nose of the air inlet lip. In one embodiment the air guide element is an aerodynamically profiled auxiliary slat fixed in front of the nose of the air inlet lip to form an air guide gap therebetween. In another embodiment, the air guide element is a tiltable air guide flap that can be selectively deployed to extend downwardly from the nose of the air inlet lip during ground operation, and retracted flush into a recess of the air inlet lip during cruise flight of the aircraft.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. In an aircraft including a fuselage, an air suction source that sucks outside air from an atmosphere outside of said aircraft when said aircraft is operating on the ground, and an air inlet having an inlet opening that is flush with or recessed into an outer surface of

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. In an aircraft including a fuselage, an air suction source that sucks outside air from an atmosphere outside of said aircraft when said aircraft is operating on the ground, and an air inlet having an inlet opening that is flush with or recessed into an outer surface of said fuselage, an air channel that extends and communicates from said inlet opening to said air suction source, and an inlet lip that extends from said fuselage to a free protruding nose of said inlet lip, wherein said nose bounds one side of said inlet opening,an improvement in said air inlet comprising an air guide element that has an aerodynamic contour and that is arranged adjacent to said nose of said inlet lip so as to influence a flow pattern of said outside air that is sucked into said air inlet when said aircraft is operating on the ground,wherein said air guide element comprises an element selected from the group consisting of a leading edge auxiliary slat arranged adjacent said nose of said inlet lip with a gap therebetween and a flap of which a majority portion is a flat planar flap body that extends from said nose of said inlet lip.