Use of aerodynamic forces to assist in the control and positioning of aircraft control surfaces and variable geometry systems

Abstract

The current invention relates primarily to the control of rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft where a small electric actuator () changes the pitch on a small aerodynamic surface () and the resulting airloads on said small aerodynamic surface are used to change the pitch on a significantly larger aerodynamic surface (). In the preferred embodiment the resulting airloads on said larger aerodynamic surface is then used to change the pitch on a still larger aerodynamic surface (). As a result small electric actuators are capable of moving and controlling large aircraft control surfaces with an effective two step amplification of power utilizing the energy in the airstream. The current invention also discloses means to control and prevent undesirable motion of said aerodynamic surfaces.