Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

David H Graham

Barnaby S Wainfan

Allen A Arata

Ross Steven Reynolds

Bruce S Rouleau

Jeffrey Ruiz Mendoza

Jay Lee Vadnais

Herman G Streiff

John Albert Dahlin

Hideo Ikawa

Joseph William Pawlowski

Domenic J Maglieri

Marvin LeRoy Martin

Keith Brian Meredith

An articulated leading edge for the fuselage and wings of an aircraft is disclosed. The leading edge may be moved from an undeflected or retracted position adjacent to the fuselage and wings to a deflected or extended position. The leading edge includes fuselage and wing portions which are articulated with respect to each other. The fuselage portion of the leading edge may be rotated around an axis near the nose of the aircraft. When the fuselage portion is rotated, the region between the fuselage portion and wing portion of the leading edge bends and the wing portion is elevated with respect to the wing. In such an extended position, the leading edge increases lift of the aircraft at low speeds. In the retracted position, gaps associated with the leading edge are avoided.

Aircraft with articulated leading edge of fuselage and wings

Aircraft

Supersonic aircraft

A compact universal apparatus which is mountable within an optimally sized weapons bay of a conventional fighter aircraft, which includes an automatic scissors or trapeze type lowering linkage mechanism for a conventional or inventory bomb ejector rack unit (BRU) having automatic latching, release and forced ejection mechanisms for conventional inventory weapons, characterized by an adaptor designed for the fixed attachment of the bomb ejector rack unit to the linkage of the lowering mechanism of the apparatus. The ejector rack unit is one adapted to the forced ejection of large bombs, attached or latched directly thereto, and to the rail launching of missiles having launching rails attached or latched directly to the ejector rack unit, with conventional automatic latch up of the bail lugs of the bombs to the launch rack lugs of the ejector rack unit, for forced ejection of the bombs, and with conventional automatic latch up of launch rails of conventional missiles for rail launching of the missiles.

Compact universal ejection/rail launching system

Growing community of inventors

San Pedro, CA, United States of America

David H Graham