Month in the Patent Office

An aircraft intended for vertical take‐off and comprising an annular wing 1 surrounding and attached to a central fuselage 3, is provided with a supplementary load‐carrying container 6 secured at 8 to the wing 1. The attachments 8 may be releasable in order that the container may be jettisoned to descend by a parachute stored in a compartment 6b. The supplementary load is housed in a compartment 6a and the container is provided with an auxiliary rocket propulsion unit 7 having a thrust so related to the weight of container 6 and the thrust of the main turbo‐jet engine 2 that the resultant thrust P passes through the centre of gravity G. Jet‐deflecting flaps 2a, control surfaces 4 and landing legs 5 are provided. Container 6 may be mounted on the inner wall of wing 1.