Aerovironment, Inc.

Other

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of Nasa

Walter Ray Morgan

Greg T Kendall

Derek Lisoski

John A Griecci

Bart Dean Hibbs

Dean W Morgan

Tyler MacCready

Peter B Lissaman

Taras Kiceniuk, Jr

Martyn B Cowley

Robert L Radkey

Edmund A Boniface

Cindy S Heller

Parker MacCready

Matthew R Kruse

Vance D Brand

Clayton A Huben

A span-loaded, highly flexible flying wing, having horizontal control surfaces mounted aft of the wing on extended beams to form local pitch-control devices. Each of five spanwise wing segments of the wing has one or more motors and photovoltaic arrays, and produces its own lift independent of the other wing segments, to minimize inter-segment loads. Wing dihedral is controlled by separately controlling the local pitch-control devices consisting of a control surface on a boom, such that inboard and outboard wing segment pitch changes relative to each other, and thus relative inboard and outboard lift is varied.

Active dihedral control system for a torsionally flexible wing

Active dihedral control system for a torisionally flexible wing

The present invention is a space launch system and method to propel a payload bearing craft into earth orbit. The invention has two, or preferably, three stages. The upper stage has rocket engines capable of carrying a payload to orbit and provides the capability of releasably attaching to the lower, or preferably, middle stage. Similar to the lower stage, the middle stage is a reusable booster stage that employs all air breathing engines, is recoverable, and can be turned-around in a short time between missions.

Ram booster

Aircraft control system

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. Travelling 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 sections of the wing has one or more engines and photovoltaic arrays, and produces its own lift independent of the other sections, 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 is capable of a top speed of about ninety miles per hour, which enables the aircraft to attain and can continuously maintain altitudes of up to sixty-five thousand feet. Regenerative fuel cells in the wing store excess electricity for use at night, such that the aircraft can sustain its elevation indefinitely. A main spar of the wing doubles as a pressure vessel that houses hydrogen and oxygen gasses for use in the regenerative fuel cell. The aircraft has a wide variety of applications, which include weather monitoring and atmospheric testing, communications, surveillance, and other applications as well.

Aircraft

A toy airplane is launched; and an air flow deflecting surface is located in spaced relation to a V-shaped, swept-back wing of the airplane to deflect air flow generally upwardly toward the flight path of the airplane to aid in sustaining or balancing its flight. That surface is movable relative to the wing, and may be hand-held beneath the flying wing. In a modification, a separate stabilizer surface may be connected to the wing to dangle, forwardly thereof.

Toy aircraft and method of flight control thereof

An apparatus for discharging a moving fluid stream into a spa tank or the like for subjecting a user's body to the massaging action of the stream, the apparatus having a substantially rigid guide means mounted to the housing of the device which reciprocates between two positions in response to the movement of the fluid stream.

Water tank jet

A valving device is provided in the inlet of a turbine engine to facilitate tarting in cold temperatures. The device or damper is positioned in the main compressor intake, is spring loaded in the open position, and is closed by hydraulic pressure during engine ignition. An increased fuel/air mixture and reduced velocity through the combustor result which enable starting of the engine at very cold temperatures.

Turbine engine cold temperature starting system

Growing community of inventors

Simi Valley, CA, United States of America

Walter Ray Morgan