Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

United Technologies Corporation

John J Occhiato

Vineet Sahasrabudhe

Lorren Stiles

John H Judge

Margaret A Macisaac

Steven D Weiner

Thomas J Toner

Joseph P Skonieczny

Anthony Zbigniew Stobiecki

Steven E Spoldi

Stephen H Silder, Jr

Gordon E Winer

Irvin B Alansky

Howard P Harper

Loren Stiles

A method of automatically jettisoning cargo suspended from a suspension system coupled to an auto jettison system, includes receiving an initial load value from at least one attachment point of the suspension system, the receiving of the initial load value in response to attaching the cargo to the suspension system; receiving an instantaneous load value of the cargo suspended on an attachment point, the attachment point being coupled to the cargo; predicting a rate of change of the instantaneous load value at a predetermined future time period; combining the predicted rate of change of the instantaneous load value with the initial load value to create a predicted load value; comparing the predicted load value to a threshold value for the attachment point; and jettisoning the cargo from the attachment point if the predicted value is greater than the threshold value.

Automatic jettison system for a rotorcraft

A method for flying in a degraded visual environment comprising the steps of collecting environmental data, processing the data and fusing the data together into a combined input output. The output is fed into a head down display, head mounted or heads up display and, preferably to a fly-by-wire vertical take-off and landing capable vehicle wherein the fly-by-wire system makes automatic adjustments to the helicopter.

Technical design concepts to improve helicopter obstacle avoidance and operations in 'brownout' conditions

A flight control system includes a primary flight display having a hover display which facilitates operations in DVE conditions. The hover display includes a radar altitude display, heading drift symbology and lateral drift symbology which assists pilots in the detection of drift, which is common in DVE situations and to provide the pilot with a salient cue pertinent to the approach to hover and landing.

Integrated hover display with augmented approach to hover symbology cueing for degraded visual environmental conditions

Taxi and slope landing symbology for a helicopter having a main rotor drive shaft and a main rotor hub defining a hub moment, wherein the main rotor drive shaft and the main rotor hub have hub moment limits. The taxi and slope landing symbology comprises a first symbol for providing a symbolic representation of the hub moment limits, and a second symbol for providing a dynamic symbolic representation of the hub moment, wherein the second symbol is disposed in combination with the first symbol to provide a visual cue of the hub moment relative to the hub moment limits.

Taxi and slope landing symbology for a helicopter

An integrated empennage structure is provided for a helicopter embodying a ducted fan antitorque device. The integrated empennage structure includes a shroud that houses the ducted fan antitorque device, a vertical stabilizer, and a horizontal stabilizer. The aerodynamic configurations and/or orientations and the spatial orientations of the shroud, vertical stabilizer, and the horizontal stabilizer are interactively related and optimized to provide yaw stability and directional control and pitch stability and maneuverability required for helicopter flight operations. The shroud is spatially orientated at a first predetermined cant angle with respect to the vertical plane of symmetry of the helicopter fuselage such that the ducted fan antitorque device provides lateral antitorque thrust to counteract main rotor assembly induced torque and a positive vertical force component to enhance the overall lift capability of the helicopter. The vertical stabilizer is spatially orientated at a second predetermined cant angle with respect to the vertical plane and aerodynamically configured with a predetermined camber and/or aerodynamically orientated with a predetermined angle if incidence to provide an antitorque force during forward flight regimes that allows the ducted fan antitorque device to be effectively off-loaded and a negative vertical force component that complements the negative vertical force provided by the horizontal stabilizer. The aerodynamic functioning of the vertical stabilizer allows aerodynamic configuration and/or the aerodynamic orientation of the horizontal stabilizer to be reduced and facilitates the attachment of the horizontal stabilizer in substantially symmetrical relation to the vertical stabilizer. The horizontal stabilizer is aerodynamically configured and orientated to optimize the dynamic pitch stability of the helicopter in the forward flight regimes.

Integrated helicopter empennage structure

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Derby, CT, United States of America

John J Occhiato