Patent ID: 8376279

Claim:
A wing segment for a very high altitude aircraft capable of operating at an altitude at or above 85,000 feet, comprising: at least two inflatable ribs, each inflatable rib comprising: a plurality of inflatable tubes including an innermost tube; a plurality of outer connecting surfaces, wherein each outer connecting surface connects one of the plurality of tubes to an adjacent one of the plurality of tubes; an innermost connecting surface that connects an inner perimeter of the innermost tube to itself; and a linking inflatable tube that is connected to each of the plurality of tubes, and is configured to receive gas and to distribute the received gas to the plurality of tubes, thereby inflating each of the tubes to form the inflatable rib; a wing flexible skin disposed between the at least two inflatable ribs; a plurality of stringers and a trailing edge, which are configured to maintain the wing segment in a predetermined airfoil shape.