A vertical take-off and vertical landing (VTOL) rotor aircraft and a method of reducing separation of a vortex generating airflow from a surface of a VTOL rotor aircraft

摘要

An aircraft includes a surface over which an airflow passes. A plasma actuator (1) is configured to generate a plasma above the surface, the plasma coupling a directed momentum into the air surrounding the surface to reduce separation of the airflow from the surface. A method of reducing separation of an airflow from a surface of an aircraft includes generating a plasma in air surrounding the surface at a position where the airflow would separate from the surface in the absence of the plasma.