Patent attributes
A hypersonic vehicle has a body, a control surface, and a hypersonic air-breathing engine. The engine includes a converging inlet having a fixed cowling having a first cross-sectional area and a throat having a second cross-sectional area. A flow restrictor is movable between a stowed position and a fully deployed position. The flow restrictor has a third cross-sectional area that is smaller than the first cross-sectional area, such that a consistent gap is formed between a periphery of the flow restrictor and an inner surface of the cowling with the flow restrictor in the fully deployed position and the difference between the first cross-sectional area and the third cross-sectional area is approximately equal to the second cross-sectional area.
