Abstract: Systems and methods for providing a series of multiuse UAV docking stations. The docking stations can be networked with a central control and a plurality of UAVs. The docking stations can include a number of services to facilitate both UAV guidance and maintenance and community acceptance and benefits. The docking stations can include package handling facilities and can act as a final destination or as a delivery hub. The docking stations can extend the range of UAVs by providing recharging/refueling stations for the UAVs. The docking stations can also include navigational aid to guide the UAVs to the docking stations and to provide routing information from the central control. The docking stations can be incorporated into existing structures such as cell towers, light and power poles, and buildings. The docking stations can also comprise standalone structures to provide additional services to underserved areas.

Abstract: An aircraft landing gear including a wheel rotatable about an axle, a motor, and a bi-directional overrunning clutch, such as a roller or sprag clutch, operable to either connect the wheel with the motor or disconnect the wheel from the motor. The bi-directional clutch includes a ring-shaped overrunning track connected to the wheel, a ring-shaped drive track connected to the motor and concentrically aligned with the overrunning track, and a plurality of movable elements retained between the overrunning track and the drive track. The movable elements are movable between: a driven configuration in which they prevent relative rotation between the drive track and the overrunning track to thereby permit the wheel to be driven by the motor; and an overrunning configuration in which they permit relative rotation between the drive track and the overrunning track to thereby disconnect the wheel from the motor.

Abstract: An aerial vehicle adapted for vertical takeoff and landing using a set of wing tip mounted thrust producing elements for takeoff and landing. An aerial vehicle which is adapted to vertical takeoff with the wings in a horizontal flight attitude then transitions to a horizontal flight path. An aerial vehicle which uses different configurations of its wing tip mounted, VTOL enabling rotors to reduce drag in all flight modes.

Abstract: A method of installing fuel system components in an aircraft wing in which the fuel system components are attached to ribs before the ribs are assembled into the wing. The ribs are structural ribs for the wing and may be assembled to form a combined rib and fuel system component assembly before the assembly is added to the wing.

Abstract: An aircraft engine anti-icing barrier assembly having a slip joint subassembly, a barrier subassembly, and a vapor barrier subassembly. The slip joint subassembly has a forward end for fixed attachment at a forward bulkhead of an aircraft engine, and has an aft end having a sliding joint. The barrier subassembly is attached to an aft side of an aft bulkhead and inserted through the aft bulkhead. The barrier subassembly has two mount pads with an upper mount pad and a lower mount pad configured for joined sealed attachment around the slip joint subassembly to form a barrier between an engine fan case compartment and an aft compartment in an engine inlet. The vapor barrier subassembly is attached to the aft side of the aft bulkhead and adjacent the barrier subassembly, has a boot element and a boot element retainer, and forms a vapor barrier to the slip joint subassembly.

Abstract: A pressurized aircraft fuselage includes a pressure bulkhead installed on a fuselage structure, which forms a barrier between an internal pressurized cabin area and an outside area. The edge of the pressure bulkhead is circumferentially attached to the fuselage structure. In particular, at least one clamping element is arranged inside a mounting bracket having an open trapezoidal-shaped channel formed by a base section of the mounting bracket and non-parallel sides of the mounting bracket. An edge of the pressure bulkhead is inserted in the trapezoidal shaped mounting bracket, in order to form a clamping connection for the pressure bulkhead towards the fuselage structure.

Abstract: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be deployed from a small stowed package for flight and stowed back into the package after the flight is complete is disclosed. The UAV is retracted to a volume that is less than half of it's fully deployed volume. This allows the UAV to be transported to any desired field position on a truck or other convenient transportation. The UAV may also be launched from a ship deck. In a further aspect, the flexible deployment of the UAV will allow a single UAV to be used in place of multiple types of UAVs.

Abstract: A vehicle wheel drive assembly, particularly useful in an aircraft, is provided. The vehicle wheel drive assembly is mounted completely within a space defined by structural dimensions of a vehicle wheel and includes drive means controllable to power the wheel and move the vehicle autonomously on a ground surface, a gear assembly drivingly connected to the drive means, and a clutch assembly operatively connected to the gear assembly. The clutch assembly is operatively mounted with respect to the gear assembly completely within an interior portion of a vehicle wheel axle on which the wheel drive assembly is mounted, thereby maximizing the space functionally available for all of the other components of the wheel drive assembly.

Abstract: An aircraft wing assembly including: a wing having a wing box structure with an upper wing cover and a lower wing cover, and a wing tip device attached to the outboard end of the wing, the wing tip device including an upper cover and a lower cover, wherein a gap between opposing edges of the wing tip device lower cover and the lower wing cover is at least 5 mm, a seal assembly aerodynamically seals the gap, wherein the seal assembly includes a bridging component on an interior side of the gap, and a seal which fills the gap and is supported by the bridging component.

Abstract: A rotary wing aircraft airframe (2) with a longitudinal axis comprising: a subfloor structure (15) for supporting cabin floor panels (13) and/or at least one fuel tank bladder (12). Said subfloor structure (15) has a bottom shell (16), longitudinal support beams (21), ribs (20), main frames (23) and floor panels (13). The bottom shell (16) has a flat shell portion (17) and two lateral shell portions (18) extending integrally from said flat shell portion (17) along its longitudinally oriented sides and being curved towards respective front edges of said ribs (20) and main frames (23). The longitudinal support beams (21) are provided with attachments for the floor panels (13), the longitudinal support beams (21) are attached at least partially to the ribs (20) and/or the main frames (23) and the longitudinal support beams (21) are featuring along at least ? of their longitudinal extension a height 2 to 20 times smaller than any distances of any of the floor panels (13) to the bottom shell (16).

Abstract: An aircraft frame includes a first partial aircraft frame configured to be attached to a first aircraft fuselage segment, and a second partial aircraft frame configured to be attached to a second aircraft fuselage segment. The first and second partial aircraft frames include corresponding first and second stringer coupling sections. The first partial aircraft frame and the second partial aircraft frame are configured to be attached to each other via a first web and a second web. The first stringer coupling section is located between the first inner flange and the first outer flange and the second stringer coupling section is located between the second inner flange and the second outer flange. The first stringer coupling section includes a first wall which extends from the first web into the first section of the first partial aircraft frame, and the second stringer coupling section comprises a second wall, which extends from the second web into the second section of the second partial aircraft frame.

Abstract: A wing tip device for an aircraft wing may include an upper winglet and a lower element. The upper winglet may extend upwardly from an aircraft wing. The lower element may extend downwardly from the upper winglet and may form a closed loop below the wing. The closed loop may have a hollow interior.

Abstract: Example embodiments may facilitate altitude control by a balloon in a balloon network. An example method involves: (a) operating a balloon in a first mode, wherein the balloon includes an envelope and a fuel cell, (b) while the balloon is operating in the first mode: (i) drawing ambient air from outside the envelope into the envelope through a first opening, (ii) using solar energy to heat the air in the envelope such that a buoyancy of the balloon is increased, and (iii) releasing air from inside the envelope to outside the envelope through a second opening such that the buoyancy of the balloon is decreased; (c) transitioning to operating the balloon in a second mode; and while operating the balloon in the second mode, using a portion of power generated by the fuel cell to heat the air in the envelope such that the buoyancy of the balloon is increased.

Abstract: A device for coupling an actuator for operating an aircraft undercarriage to an aircraft structure. The device comprises a lever having a first end for hinging to the structure of the aircraft, and a second end to which the actuator is hinged, a pre-loading structure acting on the lever to urge it towards a stable rest position that is occupied by the lever in the absence of any force transiting through the actuator; and an abutment structure defining at least one working position for the lever when the actuator is activated.

Abstract: A helicopter includes a rotor system having a rotor with an adjustable pitch that is controlled at least in part by a pilot using a collective control and which helicopter generates a Low RPM signal that is indicative of a threshold low rotational speed of the rotor. An actuator arrangement can move the collective control by exerting a force on the collective control such that the pilot is able to overcome the actuator force but which otherwise can move the collective control from a current operational position toward a minimum pitch position. A clutch can co-rotate with a motor to serve in transferring the actuation force to reduce the adjustable pitch and can slip relative to the actuator shaft assembly responsive to an application of a counterforce applied by the pilot to the collective control such that the counterforce overcomes the actuation force.

Abstract: According to one aspect, a flight controller constructed to control a parafoil in flight from a starting location to a target location is provided. The flight controller includes an interface constructed to connect to one or more actuators and one or more wind sensors, a memory, a processor coupled to the memory, the interface, and a flight manager component executable by the processor. The flight manager component is configured to identify the target location and the starting location, receive wind data, determine a relationship between a ground reference frame (GRF) and a wind fixed frame (WFF) based on the wind data, generate a trajectory between the starting location and the target location in the WFF, determine a desired heading based on the trajectory and the relationship between the GRF and the WFF, and generate an actuator control signal based on the desired heading to adjust a heading of the parafoil.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for air-ground detection. A truck beam of a semi-levered landing gear is mounted on a pivot pin. The truck beam is configured to rotate about the pivot pin between a toes down position and a toes up position. A positioning mechanism is connected to a locking mechanism that secures an angle of the truck beam in the toes up position. The locking mechanism is secured in a steady state and configured to change from the steady state to a locked state in response to an initial ground contact. A sensor is connected to the locking mechanism. The sensor is configured to detect a change from the steady state to the locked state.

Abstract: A device for concomitant opening or closing of two flaps of a door of an aircraft retractable landing gear. The device comprises a single actuating means for the opening or the closing of the two flaps under the effect of its extension or of its retraction. The actuating means comprises a first end linked to the structure of the aircraft, and a movable part. The device comprises a swinging arm comprising a first end linked by a pivot to the structure, and a second end linked to the movable part of the actuating means by a link having a degree of rotational freedom about an axis parallel to the axis of the pivot. The second end of the swinging arm is furthermore respectively linked to a first tie rod linked to a first of the two flaps, and to a second tie rod linked to a second of the two flaps.

Abstract: A multi-rotor aircraft having a center boom from which extends three or more leg booms disposed generally perpendicular to the center boom and on which is mounted rotor bases that have a rotor rotation mechanism and The center boom has a rotating drive shaft, and at least one drive pulley is mounted on an end of the center boom aft of the three or more leg booms. In another aspect the invention is a flight control module programmed for control of a multi-rotor aircraft craft and methods of control of a multi-rotor aircraft in flight.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed toward systems and methods for autonomously landing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In particular, systems and methods described herein enable a UAV to land within and interface with a UAV ground station (UAVGS). In particular, one or more embodiments described herein include systems and methods that enable a UAV to conveniently interface with and land within a UAV ground station (UAVGS). For example, one or more embodiments include a UAV that includes a landing base and landing frame that interfaces with a landing housing of a UAVGS.