Patent ID: 7444802

Claim:
A gas turbine engine comprising an intake, a low pressure compressor including a plurality of rotor blades arranged downstream of the intake, a plurality of stator vanes arranged downstream of the low pressure compressor and at least one obstruction arranged downstream of the stator vanes, whereby in use the at least one obstruction produces a circumferentially varying back pressure on the stator vanes and the intake supplies an airflow having a circumferentially varying forward flow pressure to the low pressure compressor due to a non-axisymmetric flow of air into the intake, the stator vanes being arranged to balance the circumferentially varying back pressure from the at least one obstruction with the circumferentially varying forward flow pressure from the intake at substantially all circumferential positions, said stator vanes having variable camber and stagger configurations at different circumferential positions so as to balance the varying back pressure caused by the said at least one obstruction.