Aerovironment, Inc.

Kyle D Swanson

Bart Dean Hibbs

Paul B MacCready

Robert F Curtin

Earl Clyde Cox

Paul Belik

Disclosed is an aircraft, configured to have a wide range of flight speeds, consuming low levels of power for an extended period of time, while supporting a communications platform with an unobstructed downward-looking view. The aircraft includes an extendable slat at the leading edge of the wing, and a reflexed trailing edge. The aircraft comprises a flying wing extending laterally between two ends and a center point. The wing is swept and has a relatively constant chord. The aircraft also includes a power module configured to provide power via a fuel cell. The fuel cell stores liquid hydrogen as fuel, but uses gaseous hydrogen in the fuel cell. A fuel tank heater is used to control the boil-rate of the fuel in the fuel tank. The fuel cell compresses ambient air for an oxidizer, and operates with the fuel and oxidizer at pressures below one atmosphere. The aircraft of the invention includes a support structure including a plurality of supports, where the supports form a tetrahedron that affixes to the wing.

Hydrogen powered aircraft

This disclosure provides a solar rechargeable aircraft that is inexpensive to produce, is steerable, and can remain airborne almost indefinitely. The preferred aircraft is a span-loaded flying wing, having no fuselage or rudder. Traveling at relatively slow speeds, and having a two-hundred foot wingspan that mounts photovoltaic cells on most all of the wing's top surface, the aircraft uses only differential thrust of its eight propellers to turn. Each of five segments of the wing has one or more motors and photovoltaic arrays, and produces its own lift independent of the other segments, to avoid loading them. Five two-sided photovoltaic arrays, in all, are mounted on the wing, and receive photovoltaic energy both incident on top of the wing, and which is incident also from below, through a bottom, transparent surface. The aircraft includes hinges and actuators capable of providing an adjustable dihedral for the wing. The actuators can be motors or control surfaces. Alternately, the actuators can be movable masses within the wing, which may be capable of deforming the wing to alter the aerodynamics of the wing, and thereby actuate the hinges. Because of wing dihedral, the aircraft includes motors both above and below the center of drag, and the aircraft uses differential thrust to control aircraft pitch. The aircraft has a wide variety of applications, which include serving as a long term high altitude platform that serves to link a ground station using radio wave signals and a satellite using optical signals.

Aircraft control method

Disclosed is an aircraft, configured to have a wide range of flight speeds, consuming low levels of power for an extended period of time, while supporting a communications platform with an unobstructed downward-looking view. The aircraft includes an extendable slat at the leading edge of the wing, and a reflexed trailing edge. The aircraft comprises a flying wing extending laterally between two ends and a center point. The wing is swept and has a relatively constant chord. The aircraft also includes a power module configured to provide power via a fuel cell. The fuel cell stores liquid hydrogen as fuel, but uses gaseous hydrogen in the fuel cell. A fuel tank heater is used to control the boil-rate of the fuel in the fuel tank. The aircraft of the invention includes a support structure including a plurality of supports, where the supports form a tetrahedron that affixes to the wing.

Growing community of inventors

Thousand Oaks, CA, United States of America

Kyle D Swanson