Other

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Richard D Colgren

William P Donovan

Luke A Thompson

Lance Holly

Russell J Criss

Christopher C Criss

William R Donovan

Lance C Holly

The present invention is an unmanned air vehicle designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, data acquisition, and general research. The air vehicle is a monoplane that consists of several pieces that can easily be assembled using a minimal amount of tools. The air vehicle consists of a forward and aft fuselage section, two identical horizontal stabilizers, and four identical wing sections. The aircraft can fly with all four wing sections, or with just two wing sections (the short wing configuration). Each of the four wing sections of the air vehicle can be interchanged with any of the other wing sections for the purpose of minimizing assembly time and spare parts.

Modular unmanned air-vehicle

A method and system is disclosed for using inertial sensors in an Inertial Navigation System (INS) to obtain analytic estimates of angle-of-attack (,) and sideslip angle (,). The inertial sensors consist of one or more accelerometers which produce the estimated signals for angle-of-attack (,) and sideslip angle (,). Three methods are shown for obtaining,and,estimates from INS information and are programmed into a nonlinear simulation of a relaxed stability aircraft requiring a high level of artificial stability augmentation in its flight control system. Simulation results from the nonlinear simulation for each of the three methods were compared with the results obtained when conventional probes were used to obtain direct measurements of,and,. Based on these comparisons, a method for determining,and,analytically which estimates the turbulence level in each axis is combined with one of the three methods to provide derived inertial values for providing control system feedback to an aircraft.

Method and system for estimation and correction of angle-of-attack and sideslip angle from acceleration measurements

The invention is a propulsion system. In detail, the invention comprises a hollow housing having a longitudinal axis and an inlet end and an exhaust nozzle end. A shaft is rotatively mounted along the longitudinal axis within the housing, extending from the inlet end to the exhaust nozzle end. A fan is attached to one end of the shaft in proximity to the inlet end of the housing. A turbine, having a plurality of blades, is attached to the opposite end of the shaft in proximity to the exhaust nozzle end of the housing. A solid propellant rocket motor is detachably mounted to the housing, having a thrust axis alignable with the longitudinal axis of the housing such that, when the motor is ignited, at least a portion of any exhaust gases therefrom are intercepted by the blades of the turbine for driving same.

Rocket-powered ducted fan engine

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Palmdale, CA, United States of America

Richard D Colgren