ROTORCRAFT ENGINE INLET CONFIGURATION TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE IN BOTH HOVER AND HIGH SPEED FLIGHT

摘要

The present invention achieves technical advantages as a rotorcraft engine inlet configuration to optimize performance in both hover and high-speed flight. A rotorcraft fuselage (12) with a ram air intake (16) and a side air intake (20) allows airflow into the engine inlet plenum (24). A door (26) can be operably coupled to the fuselage (12), wherein the door (26) is in an open position when the airspeed is below a first threshold and is in a closed position when the airspeed exceeds a second threshold. Additionally, control logic (36), compares the rotorcraft airspeed with a stored airspeed to operate an actuator (40) to open and close the door (26) to modulate the airflow into the engine inlet plenum (24). The present invention realizes the advantages of eliminating the inlet spillage drag due to inlet ram airflow in forward flight and increasing the available engine power by mitigating the loss of inlet air pressure recovery.