US 12,187,449 B2
Deployable inlet assembly for aerial vehicle
Vladimir Balepin, Manorville, NY (US); Fabian Chacon, Ronkonkoma, NY (US); Dean P. Modroukas, Scarsdale, NY (US); Neal Rosenblum, Wilton Manors, FL (US); William Henderson, Plainview, NY (US); Samuel G. Cavas, New York, NY (US); and Patrick M. Drennan, Babylon, NY (US)
Assigned to General Electric Company, Evendale, OH (US)
Filed by General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed on May 14, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/663,691.
Application 18/663,691 is a division of application No. 17/506,107, filed on Oct. 20, 2021, granted, now 11,999,500.
Prior Publication US 2024/0294266 A1, Sep. 5, 2024
Int. Cl. B64D 33/02 (2006.01)
CPC B64D 33/02 (2013.01) 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
19. A method for operating an inlet assembly of an aerial vehicle having a housing supporting an air-breathing propulsion system, the inlet assembly having a scoop pivotably coupled to the housing and movable between a stowed position and a deployed position, the scoop having an upstream end, and a compression ramp integrally formed with the scoop and extending forward from the upstream end of the scoop, the method comprising:
maintaining the scoop in the stowed position wherein the scoop and the compression ramp are in registration with or below the housing to prevent air from entering the propulsion system;
enabling, via an inlet actuator, the scoop to transition to the deployed position;
transitioning the scoop from the stowed position to the deployed position wherein the scoop and the compression ramp project from an outer surface of the housing; and
directing air over the compression ramp and through the scoop into a fluid channel in fluid communication with the scoop and the air-breathing propulsion system.