Abstract: An improved jam-proof control including a cylinder-piston assembly in which the piston is controllably positioned within the cylinder to perform the control function and in which the cylinder snugly envelopes a deformable sleeve so that when the cylinder is deformed by sharp impact, the piston is permitted to continue to reciprocate within the cylinder due to the deformation, either due to frangibility or softness, of the sleeve.

Abstract: A ballistic tolerant control actuator of the hydraulic cylinder-piston type and having a hybrid housing comprising a structural outer wall of selected characteristics and wall thickness "t", a central sleeve snuggly fitted within the outer wall and being of selected characteristics and selected wall thickness so that when the outer wall is impacted and/or penetrated by a projectile of diameter D, impact induced stress waves from the outer wall pass into the central sleeve with sufficient intensity to locally disintegrate and clear the central sleeve in the vicinity of the projectile impact, and so that the petals formed in the outer wall will not project farther radially inwardly than the petals which would be formed in the most critical case by a projectile whose diameter D produced the ratio t/D=1/3.

Abstract: An aircraft control system component, such as a bellcrank, having sideplate members of three-ply laminates bonded together with an elastomer-modified epoxy, with the thickness of the central ply twice the thickness of the end plies, and with the outboard end ply being of selected thickness and yield strength so that when petalling occurs therein due to the passage of a projectile therethrough, the petals are deformable under control loads when they come in contact thereafter with associated parts to thereby permit the control system to continue to perform its function due to the improved ballistic tolerance of the component.