Abstract: A leading edge slat wing combination where the slat is mounted to a pair of circularly curved carrier tracks positioned within the outer surface contour of the fixed wing. In moving from the cruise configuration to the take-off and climb configuration and thus to the fully deployed landing configuration, the slat has a fixed angular orientation relative to the carrier track. This eliminates the need for auxiliary track assemblies of the prior art that are used in addition to the carrier tracks to change the angular position of the slat for the high lift configuration. Also, in two embodiments, the slat, in the take-off and climb configuration, forms a gap or slot with the fixed wing, and the gap or slot is sealed in the vicinity of the carrier tracks.

Abstract: An underspeed protection system for an aircraft under autopilot control selects a target speed based upon the greater of a minimum maneuver speed and a stick shaker speed. The system then compares a monitored speed to the target speed to produce an error signal. The system also monitors vertical speed to determine if tie aircraft begins to descend. If the error signal due to the underspeed condition causes the aircraft to descend, the system provides a hold zero vertical speed signal in place of the error signal such that the aircraft seeks to maintain its altitude. The hold zero vertical speed signal overrides the underspeed error signal such that the aircraft does not pitch forward to seek an increased speed.

Abstract: An attenuated aircraft seat back assembly for use on an aircraft passenger seat of the type which includes a seat back frame with a front side and a rear side, the attenuated assembly comprising a mount assembly structured to be secured at the rear side of the seat back frame, preferably at an upper end thereof, and an impact absorbent, generally rigid material panel fixedly secured thereto. The mount assembly is structured to securely maintain the rigid material panel in a generally parallel orientation relative to the seat back frame, and spaced apart from the seat back frame by a predetermined distance.

Abstract: A model rotary wing aircraft is provided that includes a fuselage, a power plant, a main rotor, a tail rotor, and a drive apparatus. The power plant includes a passive cooling system to transfer heat produced by the power plant to the atmosphere. The passive cooling system consumes less than about five percent of the power produced by the power plant. The main rotor is driven by the power plant at a main rotor speed of rotation and the tail rotor is driven by the power plant at a tail rotor speed of rotation. The drive apparatus transfers power from the power plant to the main rotor and tail rotor to rotate the tail rotor at a tail rotor speed of rotation that is about three times greater than the main rotor speed of rotation to minimize the amount of power used by the tail rotor.

Abstract: A spacecraft body configuration having east and west sides which are greater in length than the body's north and south sides. The east and west sides each have antennas which extend from one end of each of said east and west sides to the other end of each of said east and west sides. The north and south sides have radiators. The longer east-west side configuration may be used not only to accommodate larger east-west side antennas, but also to accommodate deployable radiators on the north and south sides.

Abstract: An aircraft modal suppression system which recognizes that the frequency and phase of the body bending mode varies when the weight of the aircraft differs from the design gross weight. An active damper notch filter which is tabulated as a function of aircraft gross weight is utilized, thereby enabling not only the frequency, but also the width and depth of the notch filter to vary according to the gross weight of the aircraft.

Abstract: A vehicle surrounding monitoring device including: a monitoring device for detecting objects present at a surrounding of a vehicle and outputting positions of the objects defined by a predetermined detection coordinate system; a coordinates transforming device having a calculation coordinate system in which a position of the monitoring device is an original point, a progressing direction of the vehicle is a first coordinate axis and an axis orthogonal to the first coordinate axis is a second coordinate axis for transforming the positions of the objects into positions defined by the calculation coordinate system; a vehicle speed detecting device for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle; a stationary object sampling means for sampling a plurality of stationary objects among the objects based on the vehicle speed; and an error detecting device for detecting a deviation of an optical axis of the monitoring device based on the vehicle speed, components of the first coordinate axis of the plurality of stationar

Abstract: A landing process and arrangement for payloads from aerospace missions with a steerable gliding body deployable at high altitudes for accurately returning the payload to the earth surface wherein delicate and stressable elements of the payload are to be recovered. The gliding body is filled with a light gas during its deployment, and the aerostatic lift must be lower than the weight of the landing unit. The payload is divided into a body with delicate elements and a body with stressable elements, wherein the body with the stressable elements is suspended on a pulling element at a spaced location under the other body. After the lower body has come into contact with the ground, the upper body is maintained suspended aerostatically.

Abstract: An aircraft ice detection and de-icing system is disclosed in which an aircraft is positioned remotely from a laser beam generator, a beam of radiant energy is reflected from a mirror so that the beam impinges upon and creates a footprint upon a surface of the aircraft and the mirror is manipulated to move the footprint about the aircraft surface. The beam has a wavelength that is preferentially reflected by the aircraft surface and absorbed by ice, snow and water, so the beam heats and removes ice, snow and water from aircraft surfaces as the beam's footprint is moved thereabouts. A remote thermal monitoring system may also be used to monitor temperatures at the aircraft surface for detecting regions experiencing temperature rises at relatively increased rates as the regions are treated with the beam, thereby indicating the presence of ice, snow or water. A visible light may also be used simultaneously to track and indicate movement of the footprint of the treating beam about the aircraft surface.

Abstract: A wing with a wing span (b) has a main part (1), which has a substantially closed surface with respect to the flow (v) and is provided at its free end with an end section in the form of a wing grid. The wing grid has at least two parallel-staggered winglets (2). The wing grid as part of the wing span (b) takes over the intended profile circulation at the attachment point to the main part and subdivides that circulation approximately uniformly over the winglets. The same lift is produced in the end section with the at least two winglets. Thus, for the wing the spanwise lift distribution is more regular and the induced resistance is decreased. An upper or lower limit for the action is obtained as a function of whether, as a result of the fixed wing grid for the entire wing, a rectangular circulation distribution is produced or only for the part of the overall span replaced by the wing grid.

Abstract: An apparatus for mounting a momentum wheel assembly (10) to a spacecraft (54). The momentum wheel assembly (10) includes a momentum wheel which has a primary spin axis coinciding with the primary spin axis of the spacecraft and spins in a direction opposite that of the spacecraft (54). Suspension isolation struts (20) attach the momentum wheel assembly (10) to the spacecraft (54) and provide substantial vibration isolation between the spacecraft (54) and the momentum wheel assembly (10). Voice coil actuators (40) attach to an adaptor ring (14) which in turn attaches to the spacecraft (54). The voice coil actuators (40) magnetically interact with a magnetically conductive element (42) attached to the momentum wheel assembly case (12). Interaction between the voice coil actuators (40) and the magnetic element (42) provides forces which displace the momentum wheel assembly case (12) in two axes orthogonal to the primary spin axis.

Abstract: An improved apparatus for unfolding and fixing missile fins which is capable of automatically unfolding the fins of a missile when launching the missile loaded in a missile launch tube, in which the fins of the missile are folded, which includes a plurality of fins fixed to a missile body, a plurality of rotation fins rotatably supported by the fixed fin, rotation stoppers elastically supported in the direction the rotation fins are unfolded, and unfolding and fixing member forwardly and rearwardly movable with respect to the fixed fins and each having a straight movement stopper elastically supported toward the rotation stopper.

Abstract: A protective device for securing to a parachute-carried load to protect the same during landing, comprising a supporting base (2) for the load, a shield (6) extending around the periphery of the supporting base (2) and forming an upside down dome, with the supporting base forming the bottom thereof, a central deformable damping block (28) disposed under the supporting base (2), and a protective shield (29) for protecting the central damping block (28) arranged to support said element and linked to the strap (6) by means of high tensile cables (30) adapted to hold the central damping block (28) held between the supporting base (2) and the protective shield (29).

Abstract: An expandable metal product for use in extinguishing fires and in the prevention of or protection against explosions. The product is a continuous sheet of material having discontinuous slits in spaced apart lines parallel to each other but transverse to the longitudinal dimension of the sheet. The invention is also directed to the expanded form of the product, either in sheets which may be used for preventing fires or explosion or in the form of shaped ellipsoids for use in a passive inerting system for fuel tanks, as flame arresters, as anti-explosion barriers, and as shields against mechanical impact.

Abstract: An inflatable kite (150) that includes a plurality of longitudinal inflatable tubes (54). The kite includes transverse inflatable tube (53) at the rear end of the kite. When the kite is inflated, the front end has a larger cross-sectional area than the rear end. When inflated the rear edge and the side edges are coplanar. Air vents (57, 157) are provided. The kite may be inflated and launched manually or by an automatic launcher.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for controlling the precession of a spinning spacecraft (20) which allows the spacecraft body to respond to an input torque without the nutation normally attendant when an input torque is applied about one transverse axis to accelerate a spinning spacecraft about that one axis. Dynamic decoupling eliminates nutation through the impression of additional derived feedback torques (44,46) to the input torque control of a spinning spacecraft to oppose or cancel the intrinsic cross-coupling terms (34,36) of the spinning spacecraft's gyrodynamics that give rise to the nutation.

Abstract: An orbital assist module and an interstage for a launch vehicle. The orbital assist module includes a cylindrical outer wall and a support structure secured to an inner surface of the cylindrical outer wall. The support structure defines a plurality of fuel tank supporting zones, at least one of the zones supporting a fuel tank by means of securing formations. A plurality of nozzles are connected to the fuel tanks by means of fuel lines and a plurality of valves are mounted in the fuel lines. The interstage comprises a cylinder having a leading and a trailing end and an explosive connector at the leading end for connecting the interstage to a trailing end of a launch vehicle motor. A connecting bracket is secured to the trailing end of the cylinder for connecting a second launch vehicle motor to the cylinder.

Abstract: A lifting-fuselage/wing aircraft having low drag at a selected cruise condition. The aircraft includes (a) a lifting fuselage having a cross-section constituting an airfoil in a majority of vertical planes taken parallel to the flight direction and an aspect ratio (AR.sub.f) of 0.33 to 1.10; (b) wings fixed to the fuselage having an aspect ratio (AR.sub.w) of at least 5.0; (c) a mechanism controlling aircraft attitude; and (d) a mechanism propelling the aircraft; wherein the wings and fuselage produce lift in varying proportions depending upon flight conditions as follows: (i) the aircraft has a cruise design point in which the fuselage lift coefficient (C.sub.LF) is 0.08 or less, and (ii) the fuselage lift coefficient is at least 0.50 at an angle of attack (.alpha..sub.LZo) of 10.degree., in level flight at sea level (ISA) with all movable lift enhancing devices retracted.

Abstract: A propeller for fluid propulsion (such as air or water) comprises a pair of substantially rigid blades. The blades are mounted for rotation about respective, separate, parallel rotation axes, with the axes being also substantially parallel to the longest dimension of the blades. The blades each define a plate that is oppositely helically twisted along the longest blade dimension compared with the other blade. The blades are positioned together in synchronously opposite, rotatable condition, with the rotating blades passing by each other in closely spaced relation without physical contact. A tubular housing encloses the rotating blades in closely-spaced relation between the housing and blades. Such a blade system can provide a high velocity jet of large mass at relatively low rotational speed.

Abstract: A propeller for fluid propulsion comprises a pair of substantially rigid blades which rotate about their longest dimension in opposite directions, the blades each being oppositely helically twisted along the longest blade dimension and positioned together in synchronously opposite, rotatable condition, with the rotating blades passing by each other in closely spaced relation substantially without physical contact. The blades occupy a tubular housing enclosing the rotating blades in closely-spaced relation between the housing and blades. Further sealing is provided by each blade side carrying a hemicylindrical wall with a concave side facing outwardly, each hemicylindrical wall being helically twisted in a manner identical to the helical twist of the blade. The hemicylindrical walls have a cross-sectional diameter that permits, upon blade rotation, an edge of the other blade to sweep across the concave side of each hemicylindrical wall in closely spaced relation for sealing purposes.