Helicopter airborne load systems and composite aircraft configurations
First Claim
1. In a composite aircraft consisting of a rotary wing aircraft and a fixed wing aircraft, the improvement which comprises:
- a single elongated probe means for spatially interconnecting said aircrafts with said rotary wing aircraft above said fixed wing aircraft;
means operably connecting said probe means to said rotary wing aircraft for movement relative to said rotary wing aircraft;
cooperative means on said probe means and on said fixed wing aircraft to engage each other for securing the aircrafts together, said cooperative means on said fixed wing aircraft being close to the center of gravity of said fixed wing aircraft; and
cooperative means between said probe means and said fixed wing aircraft for controllably pitching said fixed wing aircraft such that the thrust of said fixed wing aircraft propulsion is directed to assist the flight system of the composite aircraft.
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Abstract
This invention pertains to helicopter airborne load systems and composite aircraft configurations. The composite aircraft configurations are designed to allow a fixed wing aircraft to take off and land either vertically or in a short ground run when assisted by a rotary winged aircraft such as a helicopter, and includes a maneuverable probe system used to attach two aircraft to form a composite aircraft configuration, the fixed wing aircraft embodying the use of a receptacle or attachment device cooperative with the maneuverable probe to effect the uniting of the aircraft. The helicopter systems airborne includes the use of the probe to cooperate with special external pods capable of carrying loads, fuel and instrumented devices.
155 Citations
3 Claims
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1. In a composite aircraft consisting of a rotary wing aircraft and a fixed wing aircraft, the improvement which comprises:
- a single elongated probe means for spatially interconnecting said aircrafts with said rotary wing aircraft above said fixed wing aircraft;
means operably connecting said probe means to said rotary wing aircraft for movement relative to said rotary wing aircraft;
cooperative means on said probe means and on said fixed wing aircraft to engage each other for securing the aircrafts together, said cooperative means on said fixed wing aircraft being close to the center of gravity of said fixed wing aircraft; and
cooperative means between said probe means and said fixed wing aircraft for controllably pitching said fixed wing aircraft such that the thrust of said fixed wing aircraft propulsion is directed to assist the flight system of the composite aircraft.
- a single elongated probe means for spatially interconnecting said aircrafts with said rotary wing aircraft above said fixed wing aircraft;
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2. In a composite aircraft consisting of a rotary wing aircraft and a separate fixed wing aircraft, the improvement of means on each of said aircraft for establishing a spatial connection between the separate aircrafts, said means on said rotary wing aircraft being operable for establishing said spatial connection including first means engaging said fixed wing aircraft close to its center of gravity, and second means engaging said fixed wing aircraft to one side of its center of gravity for positioning said fixed wing aircraft into a nose up pitched attitude for combining the lifting thrust of said rotary wing aircraft and the propulsive thrust of the fixed wing aircraft in the flight system of the composite aircraft.
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3. In a composite aircraft consisting of a rotary wing aircraft and a separate fixed wing aircraft, the improvement of means on each of said aircraft for establishing a spatial connection between the separate aircraft, means establishing said connection comprising an elongated probe body having an operative connection at one end with said rotary wing aircraft and a pivotal connection with said fixed wing aircraft adjacent its opposite end, said pivotal connection allowing said fixed wing aircraft freedom to adjust its longitudinal position relative to said rotary wing aircraft, and said elongated probe body including means operative to damp the relative roll of the rotary wing aircraft and the fixed wing aircraft for opposing bending of said elongated probe body.
Specification