Airfoil canopy aircraft
First Claim
1. An aircraft comprising:
- an airfoil canopy for producing lift by aerodynamic forces exerted thereon;
a plurality of flexible load lines connected to said canopy;
a vehicle suspended from said canopy by said load lines in a flight supporting position, said vehicle having a center of gravity and a directional axis extending substantially in the direction of flight of said vehicle in said flight supporting position;
steering control bar means movabley mounted on said vehicle and extending in a direction substantially transverse to said directional axis;
at least two suspension points on said control bar means connected to said load liens so that said center of gravity of said vehicle is below said suspension points in said flight supporting position; and
control means for moving said steering control bar means relative to said vehicle for manipulating said load lines to control the attitude of said canopy in said flight supporting position and steer the aircraft.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An aircraft comprises a vehicle (1) suspended in flight by a steering control rod (68) pivotally mounted to the body of the vehicle and having outer ends (12, 14) connected to the lower ends of load suspension lines (3, 5, 6) connected at their upper ends to a flexible wing portion (2) of a ram air inflatable type of airfoil canopy. Steering of the aircraft is by pivotal movement of control rod (68) to manipulate the load suspension lines and thereby the canopy surfaces. The aircraft may be radio controlled by a radio receiver (112) in the vehicle body for operating the speed of a drive motor (36) for driving a propeller (38) and a steering drive motor (98) coupled to the control rod (68) by a suitable linkage system. Battery pack (104) is removably mounted in the vehicle body for providing power to the receiver and motors therein. The radio controlled aircraft is controlled by a remote transmitter which controls the steering and speed of the aircraft.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An aircraft comprising:
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an airfoil canopy for producing lift by aerodynamic forces exerted thereon; a plurality of flexible load lines connected to said canopy; a vehicle suspended from said canopy by said load lines in a flight supporting position, said vehicle having a center of gravity and a directional axis extending substantially in the direction of flight of said vehicle in said flight supporting position; steering control bar means movabley mounted on said vehicle and extending in a direction substantially transverse to said directional axis; at least two suspension points on said control bar means connected to said load liens so that said center of gravity of said vehicle is below said suspension points in said flight supporting position; and control means for moving said steering control bar means relative to said vehicle for manipulating said load lines to control the attitude of said canopy in said flight supporting position and steer the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An aircraft comprising:
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an airfoil canopy for producing lift by aerodynamic forces exerted thereon; a plurality of flexible load lines connected to said canopy; a vehicle suspended from said canopy by said load lines in a flight supporting position said vehicle having a center of gravity and a directional axis extending in the direction substantially of flight of said vehicle in said flight supporting position; steering control bar means movably mounted on said vehicle and extending in a direction substantially transverse to said directional axis; at least two suspension points on said control bar means connected to said load lines so that said center of gravity of said vehicle is below said suspension points in said flight supporting position; control means for moving said steering control bar means relative to said vehicle for manipulating said load lines to control the attitude of said canopy in said flight supporting position and steer the aircraft; electric motor means mounted on said vehicle; propeller means mounted on said vehicle and connected to said motor means for being driven thereby to provide thrust for the aircraft; and battery means supported on the vehicle below said control bar means and operatively connected to said motor means for operating said motor means.
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Specification