Abstract:
Optimization of the use of the available volume in a flying wing for commercial passenger transport, in particular for short- or medium-haul routes. A flying wing is provided including a passenger cabin together with at least one hold for the transport of luggage and/or goods, in which the hold is positioned laterally relative to said passenger cabin.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of the French patent application No. 1262802 filed on Dec. 26, 2012, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by way of reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of commercial air passenger transport, in particular over distances corresponding to the fields known as “short-haul” and “medium-haul”. 
         [0003]    The invention relates more particularly to a flying wing designed for this purpose, and also an installation for an airport, specially designed for boarding and deplaning of passengers and luggage and/or goods to/from said flying wing. 
         [0004]    A flying wing is an aircraft formed entirely of a wing surface, and therefore having no fuselage or empennage. All the moving surfaces used for control are therefore incorporated in the wing surface. 
         [0005]    Commercial transport airplanes are habitually constructed by superposing a passenger cabin, firstly, and one (or more) hold(s), secondly. The latter are generally positioned beneath the passenger cabin. 
         [0006]    Flying wings provide an interesting alternative to airplanes, due to their advantageous aerodynamic properties, and they also have large carrying capacities. 
         [0007]    However, a simple transposition from an airplane construction to a flying wing results in a flying wing with a large transverse section, which greatly impinges its performance, particularly in the case of a flying wing intended to board a relatively small number of passengers, for example fewer than 200 passengers, such as a flying wing intended to fly short-haul or medium-haul commercial routes. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    One aim of the invention is notably to provide a simple, economic and efficient solution to this problem. 
         [0009]    To this end it proposes a flying wing for passenger transport, having a leading edge, and including a passenger cabin fitted with multiple passenger seats, together with a hold for the transport of luggage and/or goods. 
         [0010]    According to the invention the (or each) hold of the flying wing is positioned laterally relative to the passenger cabin, and the (or each) hold is fitted with at least one hold access door incorporated in the leading edge of said flying wing and leading to the hold. 
         [0011]    The invention thus proposes a flying wing design in which no hold is positioned under the passenger cabin. 
         [0012]    A design of this kind allows optimum use of the internal volume of the flying wing, and thus allows the flying wing to be given a very slender profile. The invention thus enables the performance of the flying wing to be optimized. 
         [0013]    The construction design proposed by the invention is thus particularly advantageous for a flying wing intended to board fewer than 200 passengers, notably to fly commercial routes of the short-haul or medium-haul type. 
         [0014]    “Short-haul” is understood to mean routes over distances of less than 500 km, and “medium-haul” is understood to mean routes over distances of between 500 km and 5000 km. 
         [0015]    The (or each) hold is of course separated from the passenger cabin by means of a partition. Such a partition typically extends in a roughly vertical direction. 
         [0016]    In order to maximize the benefits from the invention, the flying wing is preferably of the simple deck type. 
         [0017]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention the (or each) hold is delimited at its base by a floor extending to a height greater than or equal to that of a floor of the passenger cabin. 
         [0018]    In addition, the (or each) hold is advantageously interposed between the passenger cabin and a fuel tank. 
         [0019]    The hold thus forms a buffer zone which can protect the passenger cabin from a possible fire in said fuel tank. 
         [0020]    The passenger cabin advantageously has at least one passenger access door incorporated in the leading edge of the flying wing and positioned beside one of said at least one hold access door. 
         [0021]    The hold access door and passenger access door can thus be positioned roughly at the same height, so as to facilitate the boarding of passengers and the loading of luggage and/or of goods in a joint fashion, by means of an airport installation designed to this end, as will be shown more clearly in what follows. 
         [0022]    In the preferred embodiment of the invention there are two such holds, and they are positioned respectively either side of the passenger cabin. 
         [0023]    The space available in the flying wing on each side of the passenger cabin can thus be used optimally. 
         [0024]    In this case the access doors of the passenger cabin are advantageously divided into at least one pair of passenger access doors positioned respectively either side of a median vertical plane of the flying wing. Moreover, each of the two passenger access doors is preferably incorporated in the leading edge of said flying wing and positioned next to one of said at least one hold access door of the corresponding hold. 
         [0025]    In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the seats of the passenger cabin are distributed in a central longitudinal space and in two lateral longitudinal spaces, and the passenger cabin has two longitudinal corridors, respectively separating said central longitudinal space from each of said two lateral longitudinal spaces. In addition, the two passenger access doors of said at least one pair of passenger access doors are positioned so as to lead respectively to said two longitudinal corridors 
         [0026]    The invention also relates to an access structure for a boarding and deplaning installation of an airport, including a passenger transit space and a transit space for luggage and/or goods, fitted with a conveyor system. Said access structure has a facade including two doors positioned side-by-side, one of which is a passenger door leading to said passenger transit space, and the other door is a door for luggage and/or goods leading to said transit space for luggage and/or goods. 
         [0027]    The invention thus provides a unified access structure allowing joint boarding or deplaning of passengers, and loading or unloading of luggage and/or of goods. 
         [0028]    Boarding and deplaning can thus be greatly accelerated. 
         [0029]    The invention also relates to an installation for boarding and deplaning for an airport, including two access structures of the type described above, positioned facing one another so as to allow a flying wing of the type described above to park, in a manner such that at least one portion of said leading edge of the flying wing is positioned between said access structures, such that the passenger access doors of the flying wing are positioned respectively opposite the respective passenger doors of said access structures, and that the respective hold access doors of said holds of the flying wing are positioned respectively opposite the respective luggage and/or goods doors of said access structures. 
         [0030]    The flying wing can thus be loaded or unloaded concomitantly through all the access doors of the passenger cabin and of each hold of the flying wing. 
         [0031]    The two access structures are preferably arranged in a V shape. 
         [0032]    The invention also relates to an airport including at least one access structure and/or at least one installation of the type described above. 
         [0033]    Finally, the invention relates to a method for loading or unloading a flying wing of the type described above, including the boarding or deplaning of passengers through a passenger transit space of at least one access structure of the type described above and, in parallel, the loading or unloading of luggage and/or goods by means of the conveyor system fitted in the transit space for luggage and/or goods of said access structure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0034]    The invention will be better understood, and other details, advantages and characteristics of it will appear, on reading the following description given as a non-restrictive example, with reference to the appended illustrations, in which: 
           [0035]      FIG. 1  is a schematic top view of a flying wing according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
           [0036]      FIG. 2  is a partial transverse section schematic view of the flying wing of  FIG. 1  in plan II-II of this  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0037]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view from the front, of the flying wing of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0038]      FIG. 4  is a schematic top view of a boarding and deplaning airport installation, together with the flying wing of  FIG. 1  parked at said airport installation. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0039]      FIGS. 1 to 3  illustrate a flying wing  10  intended for commercial routes of the short-haul type. 
         [0040]    Throughout this description the longitudinal direction of flying wing  10 , i.e., its forward direction, is called X, the vertical direction of flying wing  10 , i.e., the direction of height perceived by a passenger on board the flying wing, is called Z, and the transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction X and vertical direction Z is called Y. 
         [0041]    This flying wing includes a cockpit  12 , a passenger cabin  14 , and two lateral holds  16   a  and  16   b,  together with two fuel tanks  18   a  and  18   b,  and two turboshaft engines  20   a  and  20   b  positioned to the aft of the flying wing. In addition, flying wing  10  has a leading edge  21   a  and a trailing edge  21   b.    
         [0042]    Cockpit  12  and passenger cabin  14  and lateral holds  16   a,    16   b  jointly define a pressurized space of flying wing  10 . 
         [0043]    Passenger cabin  14  includes passenger seats  22  which are resting on a floor  23  ( FIG. 2 ) and which are distributed in a central longitudinal space  24 , and in two lateral longitudinal spaces  26   a  and  26   b  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ). In each of these longitudinal spaces  24 ,  26   a,    26   b,  the seats are positioned in transverse rows  28 . In the illustrated example the number of passenger seats is equal to 182. 
         [0044]    Passenger cabin  14  also includes two longitudinal corridors  30   a  and  30   b  which run between central longitudinal space  24  and each of lateral longitudinal spaces  26   a  and  26   b  respectively, and which join at the forward and aft ends of the passenger cabin. 
         [0045]    Central longitudinal space  24  and/or lateral longitudinal spaces  26   a  and  26   b  can be traversed by rigidification structures, such as ribs or connecting rods, connecting a floor of the passenger cabin to an upper portion of the fuselage. Such rigidification structures can then be incorporated in partitions, where the latter may then divide corresponding longitudinal space  24 ,  26   a,    26   b  into several regions. 
         [0046]    Passenger cabin  14  is fitted with two passenger access doors  32   a  and  32   b  (visible in the closed position in  FIGS. 1 and 3 ). These passenger access doors  32   a  and  32   b  are incorporated in leading edge  21   a,  and are positioned respectively either side of a median vertical plane P of the flying wing, i.e., a plane parallel to longitudinal direction X and vertical direction Z, dividing flying wing  10  into two roughly symmetrical portions. In the illustrated example, passenger cabin  14  is constructed such that it is symmetrical relative to plane P. In particular, the passenger access doors  32   a  and  32   b  of passenger cabin  14  are arranged symmetrically relative to plane P. 
         [0047]    As is shown by  FIGS. 1 and 2 , lateral holds  16   a  and  16   b  are positioned respectively both sides of passenger cabin  14 . 
         [0048]    The flying wing is of the simple deck type and in particular has no hold beneath passenger cabin  14 . 
         [0049]    Passenger cabin  14  is delimited either side by a vertical partition  33   a,    33   b  which separates it from corresponding lateral hold  16   a,    16   b.    
         [0050]    Each lateral hold, intended for the transport of passenger luggage and/or for goods transport, includes a floor  34   a,    34   b  ( FIG. 2 ) which extends to a height greater than or equal to that of floor  23  of passenger cabin  14 . In the illustrated example the floor  34   a,    34   b  of each hold is flat, and thus extends to a height greater than that of floor  23  of passenger cabin  14 . As a variant, floor  34   a,    34   b  of each hold may take the form of a staircase in order to conform as closely as possible to the exterior profile of flying wing  10  as viewed in transverse section. 
         [0051]    The lateral holds are fitted with respective hold access doors  36   a,    36   b  (visible in the open position in  FIGS. 1 and 3 ). These access doors  36   a  and  36   b  are incorporated in leading edge  21   a,  and are positioned respectively symmetrically either side of median vertical plane P of the flying wing. 
         [0052]    Each passenger access door  32   a,    32   b  of passenger cabin  14  is thus positioned between plane P and an hold access door  36   a,    36   b  of a corresponding lateral hold  16   a,    16   b.    
         [0053]    Each lateral hold  16   a,    16   b  may include a container-attaching system, which may be of a known type (not visible in the figures). 
         [0054]    Fuel tanks  18   a  and  18   b  are positioned laterally beyond lateral holds  16   a  and  16   b  respectively. Each lateral hold  16   a,    16   b  is thus interposed between passenger cabin  14  and a corresponding fuel tank  18   a,    18   b.    
         [0055]      FIG. 4  illustrates a portion of an installation  40  for boarding and deplaning in an airport, such as an airport terminal, including several access structures  42 , such as mobile loading bridges, which are for example positioned in a star formation and connected to a central hall  44 . Two of these mobile loading bridges  42   a  and  42   b  are positioned in a V shape, and symmetrically, and are designed to allow passenger boarding and deplaning, and also loading and unloading of luggage and/or goods, to/from a flying wing  10  of the type described above. 
         [0056]    To this end, each of these access structures  42   a,    42   b  includes a passenger transit space  50  and also a transit space for luggage and/or goods  52 , fitted with an electromechanical conveyor system  54 , where the latter may be of a known type. In addition, each of these access structures  42   a,    42   b  has a facade  56  including two doors positioned side-by-side, including a passenger door  45   a,    45   b  leading to passenger transit space  50 , and a luggage and/or goods door  47   a,    47   b  leading to transit space for luggage and/or goods  52 . 
         [0057]    In addition, a flying wing  10  of the type described above may adopt a parking position as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in which a forward portion of the flying wing, in particular a forward portion of its leading edge  21   a,  is positioned between the two access structures  42   a  and  42   b.    
         [0058]    In this manner each of the two passenger access doors  32   a,    32   b  of passenger cabin  14  may be positioned opposite corresponding passenger door  45   a,    45   b  of each access structure  42   a,    42   b  for passengers to pass through, as illustrated by numeral reference  46 , while each of the two respective hold access doors  36   a,    36   b  of lateral holds  16   a,    16   b  may simultaneously be positioned opposite corresponding luggage and/or goods door  47   a,    47   b  of each access structure  42   a,    42   b  for the loading/unloading,  48 , of luggage and/or goods. 
         [0059]    Through the use of installation  40  described above, flying wing  10  thus offers possibilities for optimized loading and unloading, allowing economies of time, and therefore reduced cost of use of the flying wing. 
         [0060]    As is apparent from the foregoing specification, the invention is susceptible of being embodied with various alterations and modifications which may differ particularly from those that have been described in the preceding specification and description. It should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of my contribution to the art.