초록 ▼

An aircraft landing gear is arranged such that in its deployed position it is configured to reduce, during the approach on landing, the noise generated by the interaction of the landing gear and the air flowing past the landing gear. Various means are described to reduce the amount of turbulent air

An aircraft landing gear is arranged such that in its deployed position it is configured to reduce, during the approach on landing, the noise generated by the interaction of the landing gear and the air flowing past the landing gear. Various means are described to reduce the amount of turbulent air flow generated in the region of the landing gear, including inverting and fairing the nose-gear shock-absorbing leg, providing faired twin in-line oleos and providing fairings that produce shielding air curtains.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An aircraft having a landing gear, the landing gear including a noise reduction fairing, the fairing including: a fairing surface configured to cause an airflow diversion that diverts air away from a first element of the aircraft that generates unwanted noise, andan air duct that has an air-intak

1. An aircraft having a landing gear, the landing gear including a noise reduction fairing, the fairing including: a fairing surface configured to cause an airflow diversion that diverts air away from a first element of the aircraft that generates unwanted noise, andan air duct that has an air-intake in the fairing surface that is in fluid communication with an air exhaust,wherein the air-duct being so shaped that, in use during approach on landing, the air flowing through the air-duct has a greater exhaust speed than an intake speed, the air-exhaust produces a noise-reducing air flow that diverts air away from a second element of the aircraft that generates unwanted noise. 2. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein at least part of the noise-reducing airflow flows out of the air-exhaust. 3. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the fairing includes a second air in-take and at least part of the noise-reducing airflow flows into at least one of the two air-takes, the average speed of the noise-reducing airflow being greater that the average speed of the air entering the other air in-take. 4. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the fairing is so arranged that the noise-reducing air flow is in the form of at least a part of an air-curtain. 5. An aircraft according to claim 4, wherein the fairing is so arranged and configured that, in use, the air-curtain is formed in such a way that a quiet region is formed between a part of the aircraft and the air curtain. 6. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the air-intake is in the form of a ram-intake. 7. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the air-duct includes a passageway that is narrower in cross-section than the rest of the air-duct. 8. An aircraft according to claim 7, wherein the passageway forms a venturi tube. 9. An aircraft according to claim 8, wherein the noise-reducing airflow has an average speed of over 120% that of the average speed of the free-stream airflow relative to the aircraft. 10. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the air exhaust comprises a plurality of outlets. 11. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction fairing is mounted on a landing gear of the aircraft such that the noise-reducing air flow diverts air away from parts of the landing gear that generate unwanted noise. 12. An aircraft according to claim 11, wherein the landing gear is a nose landing gear. 13. An aircraft according to claim 11, wherein the landing gear is a main landing gear. 14. An aircraft landing gear available for use as the landing gear of the aircraft, according to claim 1. 15. A means for converting a conventional aircraft into an aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the means includes at least one noise reduction fairing. 16. The aircraft of claim 1 including a noise reduction fairing wherein the area occupied by the air-intake is less than the half of the surface area of the fairing surface. 17. An aircraft having a landing gear, the landing gear including a noise reduction fairing, the noise reduction fairing including an air duct which is disposed between an air-intake and air exhaust and which provides fluid communication between said air-intake and said air exhaust, the noise reduction fairing being so shaped that, in use during approach on landing, an in-take air-flow results from air flowing through said air-duct and out of said air exhaust;an exhaust air-flow results from air flowing through said air-duct and out of said air exhaust;one of said in-take air-flow and said exhaust air-flow has an average speed greater than an average speed of an in-take air-flow and produces a notional extension of the fairing surface upstream of an element of the landing gear; andsaid notional extension of the fairing surface acts to divert air, not having flowed via said air duct, away from the element of the landing gear that generates unwanted noise. 18. A method of reducing noise caused by a landing gear on an aircraft including the steps of (i) manufacturing the landing gear, said landing gear including a noise reduction fairing, the fairing including a fairing surface and an air duct, the air duct comprising an air-intake in the fairing surface that is in fluid communication with an air exhaust,(ii) fitting the landing gear to the aircraft, and(iii) landing the aircraft wherein the fairing being so shaped that, during approach on landing, the air flowing through the air-duct produces a noise-reducing air flow exiting out of the air exhaust, the average speed of the noise-reducing airflow being greater than the average speed of the air entering the air in-take, and wherein the noise-reducing air flow diverts air away from parts of the aircraft that generate unwanted noise. 19. The method according to claim 18 further including a step of modifying an existing landing gear design in order to reduce noise caused by the landing gear.