Fuselage arrangement for airplane

• US 8,308,108 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2009
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Cazals, Olivier, Genty de la Sagne, Jaime
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Badawi, Medhat
• Application Number:
  US12/494,919
• Publication Number:
  US 20100059626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 244/118.1, 244/118.5, 244/119, 244/120, 244/100.R, 244/102.R
• US Class Current: 244/119
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/0009 Aerodynamic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/0683 Nose cones
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 2001/0027 arranged one above the other
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 2001/0045 Fuselages characterised by special shapes
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/00 Passenger or crew accommodation; Flight-deck installations not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/10 Drag reduction

Abstract

An aircraft fuselage with a shape elongated along a longitudinal axis X along a longitudinal axis of the aircraft that determines a direction toward the front along a direction of motion of the aircraft in flight. A front section with straight cross sections widening relative to the X axis, located at the front of the fuselage and ending in the front of the fuselage in a fuselage nose, and delimited at the rear by a cross section for joining to a rear part of the fuselage behind the front section. The front section includes a cockpit located above a floorboard between a cockpit bulkhead to the rear and a front base to the front.

Claims

1. An aircraft fuselage elongated along a longitudinal axis of an aircraft that determines a direction toward a front of the aircraft along a direction of motion of the aircraft in flight, comprising:

a front part with straight cross sections widening relative to the longitudinal axis,

said front part ending in front with a fuselage nose and being delimited at a rear by a joining cross section similar to a cross section of a rear part, essentially cylindrical of the fuselage,

said front part comprising a cockpit located above a floorboard between a cockpit bulkhead to the rear and a front wall at the front, wherein lower shapes of a working structure of the front part determine a lower bulge such that each straight cross section of the working structure of the fuselage has a single curvature rounded shape and such that a lower profile of the working structure of the fuselage, corresponding to an intersection between a vertical plane of symmetry of the aircraft and an exterior surface of the fuselage comprises;

a simple curvature between the fuselage nose and the cockpit bulkhead, and curvature inversion between the cockpit bulkhead and the joining cross section so that the lower profile has a local extremum at the bottom, said local extremum determining an intermediate cross section between the said cockpit bulkhead and the said joining cross section,

and wherein upper shapes of the front part determine an upper profile of the fuselage said upper profile, between the fuselage nose and the intermediate cross section, having a simple curvature and being essentially symmetrical, with respect to an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis and passing through the fuselage nose, imparting a general ovoid shape to the fuselage in front of the lower bulge.

2. The aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 1 in which the maximum widths of the straight cross sections of the front part are increasing from the nose of the fuselage to the joint cross section.

3. The aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 2 comprising an electronics cabinet devoted to technical applications associated with the cockpit in a lower space of the fuselage below the floorboard between the cockpit bulkhead and the forward base.

4. The aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 3 comprising an electronics cabinet devoted to commercial applications associated with a passenger or cargo compartment in a lower space of the fuselage below the floorboard behind the cockpit bulkhead.

5. A method for manufacturing an aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 1 comprising assembling a first part of fuselage with a second part of fuselage,

said first part of the fuselage corresponding to a portion of fuselage between the nose of the fuselage and the cockpit bulkhead and comprising the cockpit and an under cockpit floor electronics cabinet devoted to technical applications, and

said second part of the fuselage corresponding to a portion of fuselage between essentially the cockpit bulkhead and the joining cross section and comprising an under cabin floor electronics cabinet devoted to commercial applications.

6. The aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 1 comprising a front landing gear and a front landing gear compartment provided inside the working structure of the second part of fuselage, in the proximity of the lower bulge.

7. The aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 6 in which the points for attaching the front landing gear to the working structure of the fuselage are located in the fuselage inside the bulge.

8. The aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 1 in which the front wall comprises an upper part inclined toward the front of the aircraft in front of a cockpit instrument panel.

9. The aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 1 in which tangents of the surfaces of the fuselage of the front part and of the rear part coincide at every point of the joining cross section to have a junction between said front and rear parts without angular connection.

10. A method for manufacturing an aircraft fuselage pursuant to claim 5 in which the second part of fuselage is selected between at least two different models of second parts of fuselage, said at least two second parts of fuselage having a same cross section to be assembled to the first part of the fuselage and having a different joining cross section.