Patent ID: 7766276

Claim:
An aircraft fuselage, comprising: a rounded frame including an exterior wall and an interior wall, with a peripheral flow passage located therebetween, an intermediate floor dividing the aircraft fuselage into an upper deck comprising a passenger area and a lower deck comprising a freight area, that is positioned within the rounded frame, a ventilation installation comprising compressed air ducts through which fresh air is supplied into the upper deck, a lower floor arranged in the lower deck, a bilge area located below the lower floor, an abutment area disposed within the peripheral flow passage between the lower floor and the exterior wall, a sheet located in the abutment area and having flow orifices extending therethrough, the flow orifices disposed in the peripheral flow passage at the abutment area, wherein fluid communication between the bilge area and the lower deck occurs solely via the flow orifices the sheet running in a longitudinal direction of the fuselage and arranged in the abutment area, and at least one discharge valve disposed in the bilge area, wherein the discharge valve discharges air from the bilge area to the outside of the aircraft fuselage, wherein a pressure in the bilge area is adjustable by operating the at least one discharge valve to be less than a pressure in the lower deck, wherein an exhaust air stream is exhaustible from the upper deck through openings in the intermediate floor into the peripheral flow passage of the lower deck, from the peripheral flow passage downwardly along the exterior wall to the abutment area, through the flow orifices into the bilge area, and from the bilge area to the outside through the at least one discharge valve.