Patent ID: 7866609

Claim:
A method for controlling aircraft external flow, comprising: forming a laminar flow region over an external surface of an aircraft by drawing air through the external surface into a plenum, wherein drawing air through the external surface into the plenum includes: drawing a first portion of the air through a first section of the external surface having a first porosity; drawing a second portion of the air through a second section of the external surface having a second porosity different than the first porosity; and collecting the first and second portions of air in a common plenum; and passively directing the air from the plenum overboard the aircraft, wherein passively directing the air from the plenum includes: directing the air from the plenum through an exit opening via a pressure difference between a region interior to the plenum and a region exterior to the exit opening, the pressure difference resulting from motion of the aircraft; and controlling the amount of air drawn through the external surface by controlling an area of the exit opening.