Airbus Patent for new Trijet

[NickN]

Read about this elswhere and found it interesting that Airbus would delve into Trijet aircraft.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=RoK...zoom=4#PPA1,M1

[Greg McDonald]

How good would it be to see a new 3 holer flying around

[NickN]

It would be fantastic. However for the forseeable future I couldn't see Airbus fitting this design into their current line-up. They are already trying to cope with A380 production plus the new A350 etc.

[Shameel Kumar]

Hmmm, don't really see why there'd ever be any aircraft in the future with the typical tri-jet layout (ala: 727, DC-10, MD-11). We know twins are more efficient and have lower MX costs, and for anything larger than a 777-300ER/A350-1000 you'd either have to go for an even larger twin engine, or go for a 4-holer such as the A380 or 747-8. The only segment in Airbus' line-up where a tri-jet could come up is the gap in capacity between the A350-1000 and A380-800, but again, why a tri-jet with its obvious technical, cost and efficiency drawbacks compared to a large twin.

In my opinion, the only way we'll ever seen a three-engined aircraft is in the form of a BWB form with all 3 engines side-by-side at the rear-centre of the body.

Hmm..maybe the patents for a military variant.. a future A330-style tanker with additional lift... or who knows, maybe they're looking into the future for a possible C5-Galaxy replacement with 3-engines since an A380 military variant as a heavy-lifter may not be feasible.


Any other ideas guys?

[Nick W.]

Maybe it will be a small corporate jet? Like the piper-jet?

That would be a nice design, I think, with a glass-cockpit like in the modern airbus aircraft.

I found this while googling when i'm meant to be hsc-ing
http://www.google.com/patents?id=BUIDAAAAEBAJ&dq=airbus

Interesting reading.

N

[Ash W]

Just because they have put at patent on it doesn't mean they will built it as shown. What you might find is somewhere there is something (maybe even something very small) in the patent that will find it's way into something like the A350 or indeed the A320 replacement when it comes along.

[Shameel Kumar]

Originally Posted by Nick W.

Maybe it will be a small corporate jet? Like the piper-jet?

That would be a nice design, I think, with a glass-cockpit like in the modern airbus aircraft.

I found this while googling when i'm meant to be hsc-ing
http://www.google.com/patents?id=BUIDAAAAEBAJ&dq=airbus

Interesting reading.

N

Thanks to NickN and Nick W. for the links.... I suggest everyone to take a little time out to explore the various patents related to the aviation world... something amazingly fascinating ideas coupled with even more amazing diagrams/drawings.

[Erik H. Bakke]

The way I read the patent document, the patent will applies to the specific solution for mounting the engine at the top of the rear fuselage, combined with the solution for lowering the engine when required.

It is not limited to a 3-engine type, even though that is what is shown in the drawings.
It would apply just as well to a type with 2 or more engines mounted on top of the fuselage.
Now, compare this to the design study released by Easyjet last year, and you'll see that a split tail like shown here or even a V-tail could be used with two rear-mounted engines.

This positioning of the engines has several benefits, with two of the major being a quieter aircraft and a cleaner wing.

I think they're on to something here.

[NickN]

Either way, seeing what these manufacturers propose to build in the next decade and beyond will be most interesting!