Weird new ideas

Recent patent approvals for Airbus show some....unique ideas on the airliner front. They're just patents so it doesn't mean they're going to build them, but they are very different.

Patent 8,157,204 filed in 2008, is for an updated double fuselage turboprop/open rotor aircraft. The main advantage is that it reduces structural weight by reducing wing bending. According to the patent, it is supposed to overcome some of the limitations of Boeing Patent 4,165,058.

The second Airbus patent, 8,152,095, also filed in 2008, is for an "aircraft having a reduced acoustical signature. The engines are mounted on top of the fuselage, in an extended nacelle, with the intake in front of the trailing edge, and the exhaust between two vertical tails.

Meanwhile, Boeing has filed for an updated patent (2006) 8,016,223 for the Sonic Cruiser.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
Recent patent approvals for Airbus show some....unique ideas on the airliner front. They're just patents so it doesn't mean they're going to build them, but they are very different.

Patent 8,157,204 filed in 2008, is for an updated double fuselage turboprop/open rotor aircraft.

Drawing here in case you're having trouble imagining what it means...

The main advantage is that it reduces structural weight by reducing wing bending. According to the patent, it is supposed to overcome some of the limitations of Boeing Patent 4,165,058.

Which can be seen here

The second Airbus patent, 8,152,095, also filed in 2008, is for an "aircraft having a reduced acoustical signature. The engines are mounted on top of the fuselage, in an extended nacelle, with the intake in front of the trailing edge, and the exhaust between two vertical tails.

here

Meanwhile, Boeing has filed for an updated patent (2006) 8,016,223 for the Sonic Cruiser.

and here

Personally I think patents for basic geometric considerations should not be worth a damn - most of these are probably OK except the 2nd IMO - so you extend a shroud in front of an engine intake and it cuts down noise? Is that really patentable??

Thank you, every time I tried to go to the images I got the stupid "A plug in is needed to view this". I downloaded the plug in, and got "A plug in is needed to view this". Stupid internet.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Yeah same here - that's why I got the pics from different sites - esp google patents