| 摘要 |
968,166. VTOL aircraft. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. Feb. 8, 1963 [Feb. 12, 1962], No. 5186/63. Heading B7G. A VTOL aircraft lifting fan duet inlet has a member 16 on the duct axis for supporting the fan 15 and supported by struts 17 parallel with the direction of horizontal flight, an annular guide vane 20 spaced from the curved part 22 of the inlet so as to define a substantially constant area annular passage therewith, and a plurality of spaced aerofoil vanes 27 disposed across the duct inlet transversely to the direction of horizontal flight. Fig. 1 is a plan view and Fig. 2 a fore-and-aft vertical section through a ducted fan installation in a wing, the invention being equally applicable to a fuselage. The annular vane 20 prevents flow breakaway at the curved part 22 (which is highly curved in a thin wing) when the fan is operating at substantial forward airspeed. The ratio of the chord of the vane to the radial dimension of the annular passage it defines should beat least one and a half. Further part annular vanes 21 may be added at the forward part of the inlet. The vanes 27 distribute flow evenly over the fan during forward motion, and their chord should not be less than their spacing. The radially inner parts of the outer vanes are made radial as at 28, this not being necessary on the inner vanes. Surfaces 18 are pivotable to direct the fan exhaust. The fan is driven by gas supplied to tip turbine blades in known manner.
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