US Patent 10259565 Inlet assembly for an aircraft aft fan

The present disclosure is directed to a low-distortion inlet assembly for reducing airflow swirl distortion entering an aft fan mounted to a fuselage of an aircraft. Further, the inlet assembly includes a plurality of structural members mounted at one or more predetermined locations around a circumference of the fan shaft of the fan. More specifically, the predetermined location(s) has a swirl distortion exceeding a predetermined threshold. Further, the inlet assembly includes at least one airflow modifying element configured within the inlet so as to reduce swirl distortion entering the fan.