Lockheed Martin Corporation

Renee Pasman

Robert R Boyd

John P Morehead

Douglas H Greiner

Robert Boyd

An air vehicle includes a bag skirt extendable along a portion of a hull of the air vehicle. The bag skirt is inflatable to provide an air cushion during touchdown and deflatable during flight of the air vehicle. The air vehicle also includes a cover roller adjacent the bag skirt, and a cover portion coupled to the cover roller. The cover roller is operable between exposed position and unexposed positions to expose and hide the bag skirt with the cover portion. The cover roller includes an extensible shaft and a pad securely wrapped around the extensible shaft. The extensible shaft is capable of being rotated along a shaft axis. One end of the extensible shaft is pivotally coupled to the hull by an anchor. A circumference of the cover roller is configured as a function of a distance between the exposed and the unexposed positions.

Retracting air cushioned landing system for air vehicles

A hybrid air vehicle is disclosed in which a cover is provided for a plurality of air cushioned landing pads to reduce drag when airborne. The pad is inflatable to provide an air cushioned during touchdown and deflatable during flight of the air vehicle. The cover can include a first cover portion and a second cover portion. A first cover roller of the first cover portion and a matching second cover roller of the second cover portion abut to cover the corresponding pad. The first cover roller and the second cover roller, which are separate and free from a physical linkage there between, are separable in an eyelid fashion to expose the corresponding pad. A separation gap between the first cover roller and the second cover roller is increased or decreased by roller straps to cover or expose the corresponding pad.

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Palmdale, CA, United States of America

Renee Pasman