Patent ID: 8186617
Filing Date: 2012-05-29
Classification: B64C

Abstract:
1. An aircraft comprising: a fuselage, a propulsion system, a pair of swept-back airfoils, connected to a top forward portion of the fuselage, a pair of swept-forward airfoils connected to a lower rear portion of the fuselage at a point of the fuselage aft of a connection of the swept-back airfoils, a pair of substantially vertical airfoils, wherein the tips of the swept-forward airfoils are connected to a lower side of the swept-back airfoils at an intermediate point of a span of the swept-back airfoils by the substantially vertical airfoils, the swept-back airfoils having a higher aspect ratio than that of the swept-forward airfoils, which makes the swept-back airfoils have a reduced induced drag without penalizing their weight, as their maximum bending moment is reduced because of structural support that the swept-forward airfoils provide to the swept-back airfoils through the vertical airfoils, and a landing gear system comprising at least one leg connected to a lower portion of the forward fuselage, and two legs connected to a lower side of the swept-forward airfoils, the at least two legs of the lower side of the swept-forward airfoils and the propulsion system being connected to a same structural spar of the swept-forward airfoils, so that the inertial loads introduced by the propulsion system in cases of landing with high vertical accelerations are transmitted to the landing gear legs through a shortest possible load path within an airframe as allowed by landing gear legs separation and engine installation requirements.