Patent ID: 8210472

Claim:
A method for improving the performance of transport aircraft, said transport aircraft comprising: an airfoil configured to generate a lift producing a nose-down moment for said aircraft; a horizontal tail plane configured to generate a negative lift producing a balancing nose-up moment for said aircraft; and a fuselage with annular cross section and provided with a nose cone, wherein the nose cone is disposed in front of a center of gravity of said aircraft, terminates towards a front end in a rounded nose, and has an upper longitudinal surface and a lower longitudinal surface configured, respectively, to generate a lifting force and a negative lifting force and produce a resultant which is lifting and produce an auxiliary nose-up moment, wherein, the method comprises the steps of: shaping the nose cone to increase said lifting resultant: by increasing said upper longitudinal surface of said nose cone, so as to increase said lifting force; and by reducing said lower longitudinal surface of said nose cone, so as to decrease said negative lifting force.