Abstract: A tilt wing VTOL aircraft has a fuselage with sides and an upper surface, an upper wing having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a chord, a lower surface and an upper surface. The wing is pivotally mounted on the fuselage for rotation from a cruise flight position in which the upper surface of the wing is flush with the upper surface of the fuselage to a hover position in which the wing is perpendicular to the upper surface of the fuselage. Aircraft engines are mounted on the wing. The aircraft has a pair of flaps at the trailing edge of the wing, each located between the fuselage and an engine and each spaced the same distance from the fuselage and each of the engines. The flaps are mounted for selective movement from colinearity with the chord of the wing to a first angle of about +30.degree. with the chord and about 30.degree. with the upper surface of the wing and to a second angle of about -30.degree. with the chord and about 30.degree. with the lower surface of the wing.

Abstract: An unmanned aerial vehicle incorporates a single engine with bifurcated exhausts which are coupled to side mounted rotating nozzles through a swivel joint. Jet deflection means are mounted to the end of the rotating nozzles to achieve additional degrees of freedom for the aircraft.

Abstract: A control member is rotatably mounted on the fuselage or on the wing of a model aircraft in spaced relation with a supporting surface of the fuselage. A gear leg is supported at one end by the control member and supports a landing wheel at its spaced opposite end. The gear leg extends radially of the control member. A torsion spring is coaxially mounted with the control member for storing energy when the control member is in a position whereby the gear leg is fully extended for ground operations and for releasing stored energy to rotate the control member in a manner whereby the gear leg is retracted for flying operations. A gear retracting initiator coupled to the torsion spring initiates gear retraction. An extend lock locks the gear leg in its fully extended position. A retract lock locks the gear leg in its retracted position.

Abstract: A tilt wing VTOL aircraft has an upper wing with a leading edge, a trailing edge, an inboard area adjacent the fuselage, spaced opposite end tip areas and an upper surface. The wing is pivotally mounted on the fuselage for rotation from a cruise position in which the upper surface of the wing is flush with the upper surface of the fuselage to a hover position in which the wing is perpendicular to the upper surface of the fuselage. The wing has a forward portion in the leading edge of the inboard area affixed to the fuselage and cut out of the wing and an aft portion in the trailing edge of the inboard area affixed to the fuselage and cut out of the wing.

Abstract: A VTOL aircraft has a first engine nacelle mounted under the wing on one side of the fuselage and houses two of the aircraft engines. The first engine nacelle is mounted in close proximity with the fuselage. A second engine nacelle is mounted under the wing on the opposite side of the fuselage from the first nacelle and houses the remaining two engines. The second engine nacelle is mounted in close proximity with the fuselage. The first and second nacelles are movable from positions parallel to the wing for normal flight to positions perpendicular to the wing for vertical flight. Each of the first and second engine nacelles has inlets and nozzles and each of the first and second nacelles is angled in a manner whereby its nozzles are closer to the fuselage than its inlets. First control vanes extend aft of the nozzles of, and are movable with, the first engine nacelle and second control vanes extend aft of the nozzles of, and are movable with, the second engine nacelle.

Abstract: A metal container stores a VTOL aircraft during shipment to a sea vessel or large vehicle where it then functions as a portable weather-tight hangar which can be secured in available deck space. When on board a ship's deck, the walls of the container unfold so that the structure may be converted to a take-off and landing pad that provides an exhaust system for the hot lift engine gases that eliminates the hazard to ship's crew, prevents heat damage to the deck and eliminates "suck down" effects characteristic of certain VTOL aircraft configurations. Triangular panels are removably secured together to form the cover of the container; and when unfolded and flattened, these panels are inserted in the corners of the unfolded structure so as to extend the heat shield.

Abstract: A data processing system for a phased array antenna consisting of an array of transmit/receive elements which result in a significant reduction in the data processing requirements for the received signals. In operation, the RF transmitted and received beams are formed and steered in a conventional manner with a phase shifter and amplitude weighting for each element. However, a simplifying approximation is made in the signal processing of the received signals for interference suppression, which results in minimal degradation of the system performance. In such a system, interference suppression is obtained by generating nulls in the receive antenna pattern in the direction of the interference. The nulls are produced by adjusting the phase and amplitude (weight) of the received signal from each array element just enough to null the interference with minimal impact on the rest of the antenna pattern.

Abstract: By mounting a lift engine and a lift/cruise engine closely to the center of gravity of an aircraft and by orienting the respective engines such that the thrust axes thereof are arranged for ensuring that the vector sum of the lift engine thrust and the lift/cruise engine thrust pass through the center of gravity at all times, a fuel efficient aircraft can controllably takeoff and land vertically. To provide for vectoring the thrust of the respective engines, different nozzles are provided. Further, to provide for pitch, roll and yaw control, a vane assembly is coupled to the aircraft in such a way that it remains in alignment to the jet stream of the lift engine.

Abstract: A device adaptable to inexpensive models to operate either in a mode of being attacked or an attack mode that permits sequential shooting of energy within a predetermined angle profile and, within range limits, the receipt of such energy whereupon visual indication of a successful attack can be indicated.

Abstract: A fuel tank for model aircraft having a central aperture on one end face for receiving a fuel line and a pair of nipples, one above and one below said central aperture near the top and bottom of the tank to which vent lines leading to the atmosphere through lower and upper surfaces of the aircraft are connected.

Abstract: A downwind rotor wind turbine having a rotor with a horizontal axis carried for operation on the downwind end of a pod or nacelle pivotally mounted on a vertical pivot located upwind of the rotor on the top of an elevated structure. Each blade is provided at its tip with a tip plate. The tip plates have a surface area large enough to provide an aerodynamic force on the rotor when the wind shifts away from the rotational axis of the rotor such that a restoring moment is furnished about the turbine pivot to turn the turbine automatically back into the wind.

Abstract: A VTOL airplane having a stub wing integrating a powerplant to either side of an airplane fuselage to rotatably relate the powerplant means to the airplane fuselage for uniform rotation, allow for flexible interconnecting design and lower the use of gravitational and aerodynamic moments in assistance of rotation of this powerplant/stub wing assembly.

Abstract: A ducted fan engine for model aircraft which is powered by a conventional model piston engine. The engine is mounted in a hollow portion of an inner core body and drives a multibladed fan. Two sets of stationary vanes are attached to the core body and a cylindrical shroud, fitted over the assembly, is attached to the outer ends of the vanes.

Abstract: A multi-propeller propulsion system for model aircraft having a single engine and positive driving connections between the engine and each of the multiplicity of propellers. The positive drive may include toothed pulleys and serrated belts and gearing for example.

Abstract: An airplane having a fuselage, a high wing projecting from the upper part of the fuselage to either side first at an upward angle and then slightly downwardly whereby said wing presents a gull wing frontal contour, fins to either side and forward of and at the bottom of the fuselage with ducted fans nested to the wing under the high point of the gull wing frontal contour to be unobstructed thereby.

Abstract: A Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft that has a small stowage envelope made possible by articulation of the aircraft empennage and fuselage, the aircraft having propulsion units capable of providing in all attitudes of the empennage with respect to said fuselage engine wash of the empennage thereby insuring aircraft control without additional reaction stabilizing units.

Abstract: A solar heating device for swimming pools comprising an inflatable raft having a thermally reflective bottom surface and a thermally transparent top surface, and means for elevating at least a fraction of said reflective surface above the swimming pool surface during periods of diminished solar radiation to reduce heat loss from the water. One raft is generally small enough to be easily handled and a plurality of rafts may be required to cover a substantial part of the water surface. The number of rafts required is variable and provides a measure of flexibility to the rate of heating, i.e., by providing more rafts in spring and fall and perhaps none in mid-summer.

Abstract: A system for controlling the wing sweep angle of the wings of an aircraft over their entire sweep range, including a detector for determining aircraft speed and altitude, a digital computer for receiving signals from the detector to produce output signals in response to the input signals therefrom, control apparatus responsive to signals from the computer, an actuator for moving the wings of the aircraft in response to the control apparatus, and a cross-shaft for synchronizing the movement of the wings. A manual controller is also included for manual control of the actuator.