An Annular Wing

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An Annular Wing

H. J. Walker

An annular wing suitable for supporting in flight an aircraft characterized by the absence of directional stabilizer surfaces is described. The wing comprises an annular body of a substantially uniformly symmetrical configuration characterized by an annular positive lifting surface and a chord line coincident with a segment of a line radiating along the surface of an inverted truncated cone whereby a decalage is established for the leading and trailing semicircular portions of the body, relative to instantaneous line of flight, and a dihedral is established for the laterally opposed semicircular portions of the body, relative to the line of flight. The direction of flight and the climb angle or glide slope are established by selectively positioning the center of mass of the wing ahead of the aerodynamic center along a radius coincident with an axis for a selected line of flight.