Inflight aircraft visual monitoring apparatus

• US 6,264,135 B1
• Filed: 02/14/2000
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: John Dacosta
• Original Assignee: John Dacosta
• Inventors: Dacosta, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Barefoot, Galen L.
• Application Number:
  US09/504,045
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 244/1.R, 244/118.1, 244/118.5, 244/129.1, 340/963, 340/973, 340/945, 348/117, 348/148, 360/5
• US Class Current: 244/1.00R
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/08 Arrangements of cameras

Abstract

Disclosed is a first miniature digital video camera in a streamlined configuration mounted on or in proximity to the vertical stabilizer of an aircraft and in communication preferably with both remote digital video recording apparatus and at least one cockpit video monitor. The video recording apparatus is preferably one or more channels on the flight data recorder for postcrash investigation. The preferred embodiment would employ two video cameras, one on anterior or front of the tail assembly, and one of the posterior or rear of it. One alternative embodiment would consist of only one video camera, fastened to an extension of the tail assembly. The second preferred embodiment would include two video cameras, one of which would be mounted on the posterior end of the tail assembly, the other on the under side of the plane, just behind the wings.

Claims

1. An inflight aircraft visual monitoring apparatus comprising:

an extension member attached to a posterior end of an aircraft tail assembly;

a single wide angle video camera disposed on an exterior of an aircraft at a distal end of the extension member and aimed to view both control surfaces of the aircraft tail assembly and control surfaces in proximity to aircraft main wings;

a recording device in communication with the video camera; and

at least one video monitor in communication with the video camera and disposed in the aircraft cockpit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the recording device is a flight data recorder.