Abstract: An all-inclusive method for planning the operation of an aerial vehicle, in particular an eVTOL, which operation is divided into different operational areas each with its own individually validatable and inspectable planning methodology, including (i) pre-processing data on a computer basis on the ground before takeoff of the aerial vehicle; (ii) taking along pre-planned results of the data pre-processing in the form of a database (33, 44) on board the aerial vehicle, preferably after transferring the pre-planned results into the database (33, 44) on board the aerial vehicle; (iii) combining the pre-planned results by means of a computer-based decision logic (28) with planning steps at the flying time in accordance with a state of the aerial vehicle recorded by sensors for generating a current flight path; and (iv) controlling the aerial vehicle along the current flight path.

Abstract: A motion planning method and system for aircraft, in particular for separately electrically driven, load-carrying and/or people-carrying multicopters, includes: a motion preliminary planning unit that executes a preliminary planning algorithm using a computer on the ground or on board an aircraft in question, by which algorithm a reference trajectory, emergency trajectories are determined at intervals along the reference trajectory and confidence intervals are determined along the reference trajectory, which confidence intervals specify a spatial volume in which to maneuver without a pre-planned path but that the aircraft can't leave or is able to leave only at predefined locations; a data store in which parameters of the reference trajectory, parameters of the confidence intervals and parameters regarding a permissible deviation of the aircraft from the reference trajectory are stored on the aircraft according to instructions of the motion preliminary planning unit; a real-time control unit on the aircraft f

Abstract: A VTOL aircraft (1) having a fuselage (2) for transporting passengers and/or load, front and rear wings (3, 4) attached to the fuselage, a right connecting beam (5a) and a left connecting beam (5b), which connecting beams structurally connect the front wing and the rear wing, and which connecting beams are spaced apart from the fuselage, and at least two lifting units (M1-M6) on each one of the connecting beams. The lifting units each include at least one propeller (6b) and at least one motor (6a) driving the propeller, preferably an electric motor, and are arranged with their respective propeller axis in an essentially vertical orientation. The front wing, at least in portions thereof, has a sweep angle ? between ?=450 and ?=135°, and the rear wing, at least in portions thereof, has a forward sweep with sweep angle ??30°.

Abstract: A method for cooling a battery for an electrically powered aircraft, wherein the battery has battery cell(s) and a battery cooling device with a latent heat store. The method includes: A) transferring a first amount of heat from the battery cell to the latent heat store, causing a phase transition in the phase change material, B) removing the battery from the aircraft, C) establishing an operative connection of the battery cooling device to a cooling circuit of a separate second cooling device, D) passing a flow of a coolant through the cooling circuit, E) transferring a second amount of heat from the latent heat store to the coolant, thus causing a phase transition to occur in the phase change material, and F) disconnecting the battery cooling device from the cooling circuit. Step E and/or F are carried out at least partially simultaneously with a charging process of the battery.

Abstract: A battery cooling device (6) for cooling at least one battery cell (5) of an electrically operated aircraft is provided, the battery cooling device (6) having a first cooling device (7, 8) configured for absorbing a first amount of heat at least from the battery cell (5) in an electrical discharging process and thereby cooling it. The first cooling device has at least one latent heat storage unit with a variable state of aggregation. The battery cooling device (6) also includes a second cooling device (9), which is configured for absorbing a second amount of heat from the battery cell (5) and the first cooling device in an electrical charging process, the second cooling device (9) being able to be filled with and flowed through by a coolant (13). Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for cooling a battery cell of an electrically powered aircraft.

Abstract: A battery cooling device for cooling at least one battery cell (1) of an electrically driven aircraft is provided, with a latent heat store (3). The battery cell is surrounded by a multilayer system having at least two layers (2,4) of fire protection material and a layer of the phase change material of the latent heat store, where an inner layer of the multilayer system, facing the battery cell, and an outer layer of the multilayer system, facing the surroundings, are formed of the fire protection material, and a middle layer, which is disposed between the inner and the outer layers, is formed of the phase change material of the latent heat store, and the fire protection material is of at least two-layer form, where a first layer of the fire protection material is mechanically stable in form and a second layer of the fire protection material comprises hydrated material.

Abstract: A method for controlling an overdetermined system with multiple actuators, for example an aircraft (1) with multiple propulsion units (3). The actuators perform at least one primary task and at least one non-primary task, including: a) determining a pseudo-control command up ?p? based on a physical model of the system, which command represents the torques (L, M, N) and a total thrust force (F) acting on the system, b) determining a control matrix D, D?p?×k according to up=Du, where u1=D?1upu1 ?k represents a control command for the actuators to perform the primary task, c) projecting the non-primary task into the null space N(D) of the primary task, so that Du2=0 if u2u2 ?k represents a control command for the actuators to perform the non-primary task, and d) providing the control commands from b) and c) to the actuators. In this way, the solution of the primary task is not adversely affected by the non-primary task or its solution.

Abstract: A passive elastic teeter bearing (3c) for an aircraft rotor (3b), including, rotatably arranged on an rotational axis (RA) of said rotor (3b), a teeter beam (3d), configured for attaching the rotor which has rotor blades, with the teeter beam being configured for performing a teetering motion, and having two pairs of first lugs (3j1, 3j2) arranged at opposite ends thereof at a distance with respect to the rotational axis; and a hub piece (3f) located below the teeter beam, the hub piece having two arms (3g1, 3g2) that extend outwardly in a radial direction, each having a second lug (3k) arranged at a distance with respect to said rotational axis. Each second lug is located between the two lugs of a respective pair of first lugs, and respective connecting pins (3n) pass through the first and second lugs on either side of the rotational axis.

Abstract: A method of operating an aircraft with multiple actuators, such as propulsion units, preferably electrically powered propulsion units, is provided and includes the steps of: i) monitoring an operational state of said multiple actuators; ii) when detecting a malfunctioning or failure of any one of said actuators, indicating said malfunctioning or failure to a pilot in command (2b) of the aircraft; iii) controlling a human machine interface (2ab) of the aircraft to display and enable a limited choice of possible operating measures in connection with said malfunctioning or failure to the pilot in command (2b); and iv) programming at least one control element (2ae) in association with said one actuator to perform said measures when actuated by the pilot in command (2b).

Abstract: A method for controlling an aerial vehicle of a specific type, in particular a multirotor VTOL aerial vehicle with preferably electrically driven rotors, in which a) before a flight, a finite number of nominal trajectories (NT) for the aerial vehicle and a finite number of emergency trajectories (CT) arranged around the nominal trajectories (NT) are calculated and stored in a database available on board the aerial vehicle; b) before a flight, a finite number of type-specific admissible flying maneuvers of the aerial vehicle are pre-planned and stored in the database as a maneuver library; c) optionally before a flight, a number of discrete flight levels with different flight altitudes are defined and stored in the database; d) during a flight, the database is accessed by a computer-aided transition planning algorithm, in order, depending on a state of the aerial vehicle recorded by sensors, to change between the nominal trajectories (NT) and the emergency trajectories (CT) and also optionally between the defi

Abstract: A method for operating an aircraft having multiple drive units including: a) providing a first flight control unit (CTRL-1), which activates the drive units according to a first control implementation when CTRL-1 is active; b) providing a second flight control unit (CTRL-2), which activates the drive units according to a second control implementation when CTRL-2 is active; c) continuously monitoring a function of the currently active flight control unit (CTRL-1); d) changing the active flight control unit from the currently active flight control unit (CTRL-1) to the newly active flight control unit (CTRL-2) in dependence on a result of the monitoring in step c); in which the change in step d) for the newly active flight control unit (CTRL-2) includes: d1) initializing starting values of a movement equation of the aircraft implemented in CTRL-2 using currently known state values (x) of the aircraft; d2) initializing integrators of CTRL-2 using control commands for the drive units from CTRL-1; d3) difference eq

Abstract: A method for operating an eVTOL multirotor aircraft having distributed actuators activated by controllers that each determines an associated manipulated variable signal at least for a subset of actuators and provides it for the relevant actuator. The method provides that for an actuator: i) assigning a different priority ranking for each controller; ii) determining, by way of a given controller having a given priority ranking, at least one manipulated variable signal for the actuator and transmitting the signal identified by the given priority ranking to the relevant actuator and to a controller having a successive priority ranking; iii) receiving, via a given controller having a given priority ranking, manipulated variable signals from controllers having higher priority ranking and relaying these signals to the actuator and to a controller having a successive priority ranking; and iv) activating the actuator using the manipulated variable signal identified by the highest priority ranking.

Abstract: An electric motor (1) is provided, preferably an internal rotor motor, having a housing (3) which is enclosed on all sides, except for a bushing for a drive shaft (2). A stator (5) is arranged in the housing, and is connected to a wall (3a) of the housing (3) in a thermally-conductive manner, wherein, externally to the wall (3a), a plurality of projections (6) are provided, which are oriented essentially parallel to the drive shaft (2), and wherein, externally to the housing (3), a fan wheel (8) is arranged on the drive shaft (2), the vanes (8a) of which, upon a rotation of the drive shaft (2), considered longitudinally to said drive shaft (2), pass over at least one region, in which region the projections (6) are arranged, such that a cooling air stream (KLS) is generated along the projections (6).

Abstract: A method for signal selection for a flight system having an aircraft, and having a signal selection apparatus that receives first and second control signals, wherein at least the first or the second control signal is dependent on a remote control input from a pilot and/or an autopilot, and uses an analysis logic circuit to ascertain a piece of first reliability information for the first control signal and a piece of second reliability information for the second control signal. In step A, a system state of the aircraft is ascertained based on at least a piece of state information and/or a piece of mission information of the aircraft; in step B, an automated, formal decision logic circuit is used to take the first and second reliability information and the system state and a control hierarchy as a basis for prioritizing the first or second control signal; in step C, either the first or second control signal is output in the form of a prioritized control signal.

Abstract: A method for determining a maneuvering reserve in an aircraft having a number of propulsion units, preferably a multirotor VTOL aircraft, most preferably an aircraft with electrically operated drive units for the rotors, including the steps: a) Determining a control vector, ?, for the aircraft, ?=(L M N F)T, the components of which represent control torques of the aircraft around the roll axis, L, the pitch axis, M, and the yaw axis, N, and a total thrust, F, b) Approximating an existing four-dimensional control volume, D, of the aircraft by a four-dimensional ellipsoid, E, the axes of which represent the control torques, L, M, N, of the aircraft and the total thrust, F, c) Determining a normalized control vector, ?ind=(Lind Mind Nind Find)T for the aircraft, using axis dimensions, Lmax, Mmax, Nmax, Fmax, of the ellipsoid, in particular semi-axis dimensions of the ellipsoid; and d) Outputting at least the normalized control vector, ?ind, for determining a permissible flight maneuver in at least one dimension

Abstract: A system and a method for managing aircraft operation, the system including: at least one aircraft (6.4-6.

Abstract: A method of controlling a multi-rotor aircraft (1) including at least five, preferably at least six, lifting rotors (2; R1-R6), each having a first rotation axis which is essentially parallel to a yaw axis (z) of the aircraft (1), and at least one forward propulsion device (3), preferably two forward propulsion devices (P1, P2), the at least one forward propulsion device having at least two rotors (P1_R1, P1_R2, P2_R1, P2_R2) that are arranged coaxially with a second rotation axis which is essentially parallel to a roll axis (x) of the aircraft. The at least one or each of the forward propulsion devices (3, P1, P2) being arranged at a respective distance (+y, ?y) from said roll axis (x). The method further includes: using at least one of the rotors of the at least one forward propulsion device to control the aircraft's moment about the yaw and/or roll axes independently from each other.

Abstract: A method for operating an aircraft with N>4 drive units, preferably in the form of electrically driven rotors, where a flight control system generates control commands ?COM, ?COM?U?RN, for the drive units, via a first channel and transmits them to the drive units, where U represents limitations of the drive units; the flight control system also generates pseudo-control commands ?COM, ?COM?R4, in the first channel, which specify torques about corresponding axes of rotation of the aircraft and a thrust, a control matrix M?R4×N according to ?=M ? establishing a relationship with the control commands ?; in the first channel, admissible control commands ?COM?U are calculated from the pseudo-control commands ?COM by an allocation algorithm; and the first channel is monitored by an independent second channel and, based on a monitoring result, is passivated.

Abstract: A method of operating an aircraft (AC), in particular UAV, for assessing operational risk at a given position in space, including: dissimilarly acquiring (S1.1, . . . ,S1.n) multiple heterogeneous geospatial data sets (DL1, . . . ,DLn); deriving metrics for operational risk from each of the data sets (DL1, . . . ,DLn), thus obtaining multiple corresponding geospatial risk layers (RL1, . . . RLn), by a respective risk model; storing the risk layers (RL1, . . . RLn) in a risk layer database (DB); accessing the risk layer database (DB) during aircraft operation planning and/or during actual aircraft operation to obtain a mission risk map (RMA); operating the aircraft (AC) based on risk information provided in the mission risk map (RMA), preferably including minimizing a mission risk. A system for carrying out the method is also provided.

Abstract: A method of controlling an aircraft having multiple configurations or modes is provided, wherein each configuration is controlled by a different control law implemented by a flight control device and transition from one configuration to another configuration is achieved by gradually blending out a control law for said one configuration and by gradually increasing an impact of a control law for said other configuration in said flight control device based on an estimated flight condition of the aircraft by dynamically adjusting, in said flight control device, respective maximum and minimum limit values of control volumes, which control volumes are defined by parameter ranges of control parameters in connection with a corresponding control law for said one configuration and for said other configuration, respectively.