Airbus med patent - Likner på en Rutan design.....Aviation Intl. News

Ultra-rapid Air Vehicle Patent Highlights Airbus R&D Efforts

A team of engineers led by Airbus Defence and Space advanced project system engineer Marco Prampolini has secured a U.S. patent for an “ultra-rapid air vehicle” design that envisions transport of 20 passengers at up to Mach 4.5 and range of nearly 5,000 nm. The patent is part of an effort begun in 2009 to a research project called ZHEST (zero emission hypersonic transportation).  The vehicle features a “gothic” delta wing, with a leading edge sweep of 70 to 75 degrees. Three engine types power the vehicle. For takeoff, a turbojet and a rocket motor (or multiple versions of each) propel the vehicle first horizontally and then into a vertical flight path. The turbojet(s) shut down before reaching Mach 1 then retract into the fuselage. Ramjets help maintain the high-speed cruise at altitudes of 98,000 to 115,000 feet. To slow down and descend, the vehicle’s ramjets are shut down, split flaps are deployed and trapezoid-shaped fins on the outer edge of each wing’s trailing edge are repositioned. The turbojets would then restart below Mach 1. Landing would involve “insertion into standard air traffic.” As for Airbus plans for the vehicle, a spokesman told AIN, the company applies “for hundreds of patents every year in order to protect intellectual property. These patents are often based on R&D concepts and ideas in a very nascent stage of conceptualization, and not every patent progresses to becoming a fully realized technology or product.”