Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Fjord Weather Systems, LLC

Other

Lambert, Drew

Knag, John

John Knag

Aaron L Greenfield

Erez Eller

Cody Fegely

Anthony Litwinowicz

Mark Winfield Scott

Vineet Sahasrabudhe

Kenneth Stephen Wittmer

Stephen T Kubik

William P Fell

Alex Faynberg

Drew Lambert

James Rigsby

Sunny K Siu

A distributed weather system includes a storage, a plurality of wireless weather stations, a server, and an interface. Each of the plurality of wireless weather stations is associated with a user and has a battery, a location sensor generating location information, an anemometer generating apparent wind speed, a transmitter transmitting the location information with the apparent wind speed to a network at periodic intervals, and a receiver receiving control commands that include a length of the periodic intervals. The server receives the location information with the apparent wind speed and stores them in the storage. The interface is accessible by a mobile computer, and receives the control commands from a user and sends them to the receiver of the wireless weather station associated with the user. The interface displays a true wind speed for each of the plurality of wireless weather stations, which is calculated using the apparent wind speed, the location information, and historical location information.

Distributed weather monitoring system

A method for controlling a propeller of an aircraft, comprises receiving, with a processor, one or more signals indicative of commanded collective pitch of the propeller; receiving, with the processor, one or more sensed signals indicative of propeller axial speed, propeller rotational speed, and air density; estimating, with the processor, a propeller torque and propeller thrust from one or more of the propeller axial speed, the propeller rotational speed, and the air density; determining, with the processor, information indicative of an error value between a desired torque and a measured torque in the propeller; determining, with the processor, information indicative of a corrected pitch command in response to the determining of the error value; combining, with the processor, the corrected pitch command with the propeller rotational speed into an adjustment solution; providing, with the processor, the propeller with the adjustment solution.

Torque and thrust control of a propeller

A method for controlling a differential rotor roll moment for a coaxial helicopter with rigid rotors, the method including receiving, with a processor, a signal indicative of a displacement command from a controller; receiving, with the processor via a sensor, one or more signals indicative of a longitudinal velocity, an angular velocity of one or more rotors and an air density ratio for the helicopter; determining, with the processor, a ganged collective mixing command in response to the receiving of the displacement command; determining, with the processor, a rotor advance ratio as a function of the longitudinal velocity and the angular velocity; and determining, with the processor, a corrective differential lateral cyclic command for the rigid rotors that controls the differential rotor roll moment to a desired value.

Steady state differential roll moment control with automated differential lateral control

A method of counteracting a rotor moment of one or more rotors of a concentric dual-rotor helicopter includes sensing angular velocity and angular acceleration of a helicopter during a flight maneuver. The angular velocity and angular acceleration are compared to a set of control parameters and one or more control servos change the cyclic pitch of the one or more rotors to counteract the rotor moment. A control system for counteracting a rotor moment of one or more rotors of a concentric dual-rotor helicopter includes one or more sensors configured to sense angular velocity and angular acceleration of a helicopter during a flight maneuver. A computer is operably connected to the one or more sensors and configured to compare sensor data to a set of control parameters. A plurality of control servos change the cyclic pitch of the one or more rotors to counteract the rotor moment.

Moment limiting control laws for dual rigid rotor helicopters

One aspect is a flight control system for independent speed and attitude control of a rotary wing aircraft that includes a main rotor system and a translational thrust system. The flight control system includes a flight control computer configured to interface with the main rotor system and the translational thrust system. The flight control computer includes processing circuitry configured to execute control logic. A pitch attitude reference generator provides a pitch attitude reference to a main rotor controller to command the main rotor system based on pilot input. A longitudinal reference generator produces a longitudinal reference as a longitudinal position or longitudinal velocity based on pilot input. An attitude-to-propulsor crossfeed converts the pitch attitude reference into a propulsor trim adjustment. A propeller pitch controller combines the longitudinal reference and the propulsor trim adjustment into a propeller command, and provides the propeller command to the translational thrust system.

Independent speed and attitude control for a rotary wing aircraft

Controlling rotor blades of a rotor assembly includes determining an azimuthal position of a rotor assembly and identifying a lateral control command value, a longitudinal control command value and a collective control command value of a rotor assembly control system. A sine value and a cosine value of the azimuthal position are calculated and separate blade commands signals are generated for each separate blade of the rotor assembly to control a position of each blade independent of each other blade. The blade command signals are generated based on combining the sine and cosine values of the azimuthal position with the lateral control command value, the longitudinal control command value and the collective control command value.

Controlling rotor blades of a swashplateless rotor

A method of controlling a helicopter having a rotor with blades is provided. The method includes receiving, by a computing device comprising a processor, at least one input associated with the helicopter; generating, by the computing device, control signals configured to counteract blade bending associated with the rotors based on the received at least one input; measuring, by the computing device, blade signals using sensors for the blades; extracting, by the computing device, harmonic loads from the measured blade signals; adapting, by the computing device, the control signals based on the harmonic loads; and controlling, by the computing device, servos connected to the blades to adjust the blades according to the adapted control signals to reduce vibratory loads on the blades.

Helicopter rotor load reduction and tip clearance control

Embodiments are directed to causing, by a computing device comprising a processor, a rotating tail rotor to operate in a tail rotor mode when an aircraft is operating at a speed less than a rudder control power threshold, receiving, by the computing device, a command that indicates a request to transition the aircraft, determining, by the computing device, that a rudder of the aircraft has control power in an amount greater than a second threshold based on receiving the command, and causing, by the computing device, the rotating tail rotor to operate in a pusher propeller mode based on determining that the rudder has control power in the amount greater than the second threshold.

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New Boston, NH, United States of America

John Knag