Flying wing with side cargo compartment

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.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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

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”.

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.

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.

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.

Flying wings provide an interesting alternative to airplanes, due to their advantageous aerodynamic properties, and they also have large carrying capacities.

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

One aim of the invention is notably to provide a simple, economic and efficient solution to this problem.

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.

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.

The invention thus proposes a flying wing design in which no hold is positioned under the passenger cabin.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

In order to maximize the benefits from the invention, the flying wing is preferably of the simple deck type.

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.

In addition, the (or each) hold is advantageously interposed between the passenger cabin and a fuel tank.

The hold thus forms a buffer zone which can protect the passenger cabin from a possible fire in said fuel tank.

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.

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.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention there are two such holds, and they are positioned respectively either side of the passenger cabin.

The space available in the flying wing on each side of the passenger cabin can thus be used optimally.

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.

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

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.

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.

Boarding and deplaning can thus be greatly accelerated.

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.

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.

The two access structures are preferably arranged in a V shape.

The invention also relates to an airport including at least one access structure and/or at least one installation of the type described above.

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.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 3illustrate a flying wing10intended for commercial routes of the short-haul type.

Throughout this description the longitudinal direction of flying wing10, i.e., its forward direction, is called X, the vertical direction of flying wing10, 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.

This flying wing includes a cockpit12, a passenger cabin14, and two lateral holds16aand16b,together with two fuel tanks18aand18b,and two turboshaft engines20aand20bpositioned to the aft of the flying wing. In addition, flying wing10has a leading edge21aand a trailing edge21b.

Cockpit12and passenger cabin14and lateral holds16a,16bjointly define a pressurized space of flying wing10.

Passenger cabin14includes passenger seats22which are resting on a floor23(FIG. 2) and which are distributed in a central longitudinal space24, and in two lateral longitudinal spaces26aand26b(FIGS. 1 and 2). In each of these longitudinal spaces24,26a,26b,the seats are positioned in transverse rows28. In the illustrated example the number of passenger seats is equal to 182.

Passenger cabin14also includes two longitudinal corridors30aand30bwhich run between central longitudinal space24and each of lateral longitudinal spaces26aand26brespectively, and which join at the forward and aft ends of the passenger cabin.

Passenger cabin14is fitted with two passenger access doors32aand32b(visible in the closed position inFIGS. 1 and 3). These passenger access doors32aand32bare incorporated in leading edge21a,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 wing10into two roughly symmetrical portions. In the illustrated example, passenger cabin14is constructed such that it is symmetrical relative to plane P. In particular, the passenger access doors32aand32bof passenger cabin14are arranged symmetrically relative to plane P.

As is shown byFIGS. 1 and 2, lateral holds16aand16bare positioned respectively both sides of passenger cabin14.

The flying wing is of the simple deck type and in particular has no hold beneath passenger cabin14.

Passenger cabin14is delimited either side by a vertical partition33a,33bwhich separates it from corresponding lateral hold16a,16b.

Each lateral hold, intended for the transport of passenger luggage and/or for goods transport, includes a floor34a,34b(FIG. 2) which extends to a height greater than or equal to that of floor23of passenger cabin14. In the illustrated example the floor34a,34bof each hold is flat, and thus extends to a height greater than that of floor23of passenger cabin14. As a variant, floor34a,34bof each hold may take the form of a staircase in order to conform as closely as possible to the exterior profile of flying wing10as viewed in transverse section.

The lateral holds are fitted with respective hold access doors36a,36b(visible in the open position inFIGS. 1 and 3). These access doors36aand36bare incorporated in leading edge21a,and are positioned respectively symmetrically either side of median vertical plane P of the flying wing.

Each passenger access door32a,32bof passenger cabin14is thus positioned between plane P and an hold access door36a,36bof a corresponding lateral hold16a,16b.

Each lateral hold16a,16bmay include a container-attaching system, which may be of a known type (not visible in the figures).

Fuel tanks18aand18bare positioned laterally beyond lateral holds16aand16brespectively. Each lateral hold16a,16bis thus interposed between passenger cabin14and a corresponding fuel tank18a,18b.

FIG. 4illustrates a portion of an installation40for boarding and deplaning in an airport, such as an airport terminal, including several access structures42, such as mobile loading bridges, which are for example positioned in a star formation and connected to a central hall44. Two of these mobile loading bridges42aand42bare 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 wing10of the type described above.

To this end, each of these access structures42a,42bincludes a passenger transit space50and also a transit space for luggage and/or goods52, fitted with an electromechanical conveyor system54, where the latter may be of a known type. In addition, each of these access structures42a,42bhas a facade56including two doors positioned side-by-side, including a passenger door45a,45bleading to passenger transit space50, and a luggage and/or goods door47a,47bleading to transit space for luggage and/or goods52.

In addition, a flying wing10of the type described above may adopt a parking position as illustrated inFIG. 4, in which a forward portion of the flying wing, in particular a forward portion of its leading edge21a,is positioned between the two access structures42aand42b.

In this manner each of the two passenger access doors32a,32bof passenger cabin14may be positioned opposite corresponding passenger door45a,45bof each access structure42a,42bfor passengers to pass through, as illustrated by numeral reference46, while each of the two respective hold access doors36a,36bof lateral holds16a,16bmay simultaneously be positioned opposite corresponding luggage and/or goods door47a,47bof each access structure42a,42bfor the loading/unloading,48, of luggage and/or goods.

Through the use of installation40described above, flying wing10thus offers possibilities for optimized loading and unloading, allowing economies of time, and therefore reduced cost of use of the flying wing.