Patent ID: 8511090

Claim:
A method for manufacturing an aircraft, comprising: selecting a fuselage configuration; selecting a wing configuration; selecting a configuration of a turbofan engine nozzle to include: a fan flow duct having a first internal flow surface positioned to receive a fan flow; a core flow duct having a second internal flow surface positioned to receive an engine core flow; selecting an exit aperture of at least one of the ducts to have a perimeter that includes multiple projections extending in an aft direction, with an aft portion of individual neighboring projections spaced apart from each other by a gap; and selecting a geometric feature of at least some of the projections to vary in a monotonic manner that depends at least in part on a location of the engine nozzle relative to the fuselage, wherein the geometric feature includes at least one of a shape of the projections, a length of the projections, or an angular deflection of the projections relative to a direction of gas flow through the nozzle.