Abstract: An air to air refueling system that monitors and adapts the movement at an end of an air to air refueling hose of a tanker aircraft to counteract undesirable movements at the end of the hose though generating aerodynamic loads in the end of the hose. The system includes grid fins at the end of the hose that are automatically rotated to counteract the undesirable movements.

Abstract: A method for compensating for aerodynamic radial loads applied to a drogue coupling of a hose and drogue air to air active refueling system including: deploying a refueling hose from a tanker aircraft, wherein the drogue coupling is at a distal end of the hose and the drogue coupling is connected to a hose end control unit which includes at least three fins extending outward into air flowing over the hose end control unit; sensing acceleration of the hose end control unit and/or the drogue coupling, generating an acceleration signal with data representing the sensed acceleration; determining at least one deflection angle for at least one of the three fins based on the acceleration signal, and rotating at least one of the three fins by the at least one deflection angle.

Abstract: A system for monitoring the degradation status of refueling hoses on air includes a device with at least one sensor adapted to produce data about the external surface of the refueling hose. The method for monitoring the degradation status of refueling hoses on air includes moving a device with at least one sensor along a refueling hose or moving a refueling hose with respect to the device, producing data about the external surface of the refueling hose from the at least one sensor, and analyzing the data for monitoring the degradation status of the refueling hose. It allows providing a system and method for monitoring the degradation status of refueling hoses on air that reduces the risk of personal injury associated to hose damage inspection and is cost saving.

Abstract: An air to air refueling system that monitors and adapts the movement at an end of an air to air refueling hose of a tanker aircraft to counteract undesirable movements at the end of the hose though generating aerodynamic loads in the end of the hose. The system includes grid fins at the end of the hose that are automatically rotated to counteract the undesirable movements.

Abstract: A system for monitoring the degradation status of refueling hoses on air includes a device with at least one sensor adapted to produce data about the external surface of the refueling hose. The method for monitoring the degradation status of refueling hoses on air includes moving a device with at least one sensor along a refueling hose or moving a refueling hose with respect to the device, producing data about the external surface of the refueling hose from the at least one sensor, and analyzing the data for monitoring the degradation status of the refueling hose. It allows providing a system and method for monitoring the degradation status of refueling hoses on air that reduces the risk of personal injury associated to hose damage inspection and is cost saving.

Abstract: A method for in-flight refueling of a receiver aircraft from a tanker aircraft including: measuring continuously a tension at an end of a hose extending from the tanker aircraft towards the receiver aircraft, and using the measured tension to control a torque applied to a drum device deploying the hose from the tanker aircraft such that the tension at the end of the hose conforms to target tensions during each phase of the refueling operation.

Abstract: A system and method for measuring a mass of fuel contained in a variable geometry container. The container comprises a container assembly, formed by a variable geometry container disposed on a rigid support, a three-axis load cell coupled with the rigid support and providing a first set of three signals with a magnitude proportional to the force exerted by the container assembly, a three-axis accelerometer coupled with the rigid support and providing a second set of three signals with a magnitude proportional to the acceleration to which the container assembly is subjected, and a signal processing device configured to convert the first and the second set of signals into force and acceleration data, for three perpendicular directions of the space, and configured to calculate a measure relative to the mass of fuel contained in the variable geometry container.

Abstract: The present invention provides a hose&drogue in-flight refueling system that avoids overpressure risks in the refueling operation and optimizes the performance of the fuel supply during its operational life and throughout all the flow rates. The hose&drogue in-flight refueling system comprises a pressure sensing unit capable of measuring continuously the fuel pressure at the end of the hose and a control unit in the tanker aircraft which is operatively communicated through a communication link with the pressure sensing unit and with the fuel pump and is adapted to use the measures of the fuel pressure at the end of the hose to control that the fuel supplied at the beginning of the hose has the pressure needed to achieve a target pressure at the end of the hose.

Abstract: A method for in-flight refueling of a receiver aircraft from a tanker aircraft including: measuring continuously a tension at an end of a hose extending from the tanker aircraft towards the receiver aircraft, and using the measured tension to control a torque applied to a drum device deploying the hose from the tanker aircraft such that the tension at the end of the hose conforms to target tensions during each phase of the refueling operation.

Abstract: A system and method for measuring a mass of fuel contained in a variable geometry container. The container comprises a container assembly, formed by a variable geometry container disposed on a rigid support, a three-axis load cell coupled with the rigid support and providing a first set of three signals with a magnitude proportional to the force exerted by the container assembly, a three-axis accelerometer coupled with the rigid support and providing a second set of three signals with a magnitude proportional to the acceleration to which the container assembly is subjected, and a signal processing device configured to convert the first and the second set of signals into force and acceleration data, for three perpendicular directions of the space, and configured to calculate a measure relative to the mass of fuel contained in the variable geometry container.

Abstract: Reception coupling unit of a hose and drogue device of a tanker aircraft with the probe of a receiver aircraft for in-flight refueling, including, respectively, first and second cooperating latching devices that can be positioned in one or more latching states in a refueling operation, in which the reception coupling unit includes at least a detector of the latching states and at least a first indication device and/or a second indication device for providing, respectively, to the pilot of the receiver aircraft and/or to the crew of the tanker aircraft indications that the cooperating latching devices are positioned in one or more of the latching states, the detector being operatively connected, respectively, to a first indication device and/or to a second indication device.