Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5738302 | Airborne vehicle An airborne vehicle generally comprises a body, a lifting mechanism for lifting the vehicle, and a steering mechanism operable by a user for steering the vehicle. The lifting mechanism comprises first and second counter-rotating propellers mounted in a fr... | 04/14/1998 |
| 5730390 | Reusable spacecraft A reusable space craft having a disk-shaped casing which receives buoyancy upon horizontal travel through a gas atmosphere and three drive systems on the casing. A first drive system utilizes counter-rotating rotors driven by jet engines on the periphery.... | 03/24/1998 |
| 5480110 | Transport plane with stub tail A transport plane with stub tail, which is preferably propelled by two jet engines. The intake air is fed to the engines directly integrated in the fuselage tail via a diffusor, the diffusor is a short diffusor. The air obtained by boundary layer suction ... | 01/02/1996 |
| 5402963 | Acoustically shielded exhaust system for high thrust jet engines A flade exhaust nozzle for a high thrust jet engine is configured to form an acoustic shield around the core engine exhaust flowstream while supplementing engine thrust during all flight conditions, particularly during takeoff. The flade airflow is conver... | 04/04/1995 |
| 5141173 | Pressure-jet and ducted fan hybrid electric car A hybrid electric vehicle (10) capable of ground travel and air travel is described. The vehicle provides for movement over the ground by wheel motors (20) mounted at each of four ground engaging wheels (14 and 16). The wheel motors are supplied with elec... | 08/25/1992 |
| 5072892 | Aerodynamic device An aerodynamic vehicle includes a central body with a vertical axis, an outer wall and a bottom wall, a first rotatable disk concentric with the central body axis and rotatable in a first direction, a second rotatable disk concentric with the central body... | 12/17/1991 |
| 5016837 | Venturi enhanced airfoil A basic airfoil has its operating performance improved by incorporating one or more apertures in the airfoil adjacent its trailing edge. These apertures extend from the upper surface of the airfoil down through to the lower surface of the airfoil. The ent... | 05/21/1991 |
| 4886224 | Aircraft lift mechanism An apparatus for producing lift in a flying vehicle comprising a top deck of a flying vehicle having a cylindrical well formed thereinto, a discoidal member positioned within the cylindrical well, an air intake system formed in the center of the discoidal... | 12/12/1989 |
| 4828058 | Hovercraft with improved maneuverability Disclosed is a hovercraft having a pair of air cushions, associated with each air cushion is a rotatable fan which partly produces lifting force and partly propels and maneuvers the craft. The fans are mounted perpendicular to the direction of travel, per... | 05/09/1989 |
| 4828205 | Device for carrying and lifting loads and moving same by aerodynamic lifting The disclosure describes a device for carrying and lifting loads and moving ame by aerodynamic lifting, rotary-wing aerial propulsion, having two coaxial rotors of same diameters rotating at the same speed and in reversed direction through a double crown w... | 05/09/1989 |
| 4796836 | Lifting engine for VTOL aircrafts A hovering or VTOL aircraft with a propulsion unit using a fan in a shroud whose upper end is toroidally shaped and rotationally symmetrical with a convex curvature with a radius of curvature between 0.2 rf and 1 rf from a location 1... | 01/10/1989 |
| 4705234 | Ram wing surface effect vehicle A surface effect vehicle comprises a hull of a generally rectangular shape concave at the front underside and contouring to a flat planing hull at the stern, an upper surface forming an airfoil, a passenger/operators cabin is mounted on top of the hull an... | 11/10/1987 |
| 4660670 | Wing-in-ground effect air cushion vehicle An air-cushion vehicle of the type having a flat rigid platform with rigid longitudinal walls attached to the platform. In such an air-cushion vehicle a plurality of transverse trough-shaped skirts are provided so as to form a space bounded by the skirt a... | 04/28/1987 |
| 4643268 | Air lifted and propelled vehicle The disclosure concerns a vehicle which is both lifted and propelled by air flow. The vehicle comprises an upper deck, a depending peripheral side wall and a flexible, perforated sheet secured beneath the bottom of the side wall, thereby defining an open ... | 02/17/1987 |
| 4541357 | Watercraft having water jet lift A watercraft (10) operates as a conventional displacement vessel or as an airborne craft. In the airborne mode water is drawn upward through a drogue (18) by operation of a pump (42) which is driven by a motor (44). Pressurized water from the pump (42) is... | 09/17/1985 |
| 4462560 | Airplane take-off system This invention provides a system for launching aircraft into free flight regime regardless of runway conditions, wherein a sled of the self-powered air cushion vehicle type is configured in plan form so as to accept in temporarily locked relation thereupo... | 07/31/1984 |
| 4151893 | Wing in ground effect vehicle A wing in ground effect (WIG) vehicle, the body of which is a low aspect io airfoil. Soft end plates allow for proper sealing of pressure below the wing while preventing the transmittal of wave action forces to the vehicle. Fin rudders and a dorsal fin p... | 05/01/1979 |
| 4046215 | Vessel mobile on air cushion or the like A propeller driven vehicle, such as an air cushion hovercraft, comprising a hull, a teardrop shaped cabin mounted on the hull and a propeller arranged in front of the cabin. A gutter shaped obstructing plate is pivotally mounted to each side wall of the c... | 09/06/1977 |
| 3997131 | Rotor means for an aircraft A rotor arrangement for an aircraft comprising two coaxially counter-rotatable rotators, each rotor being journaled freely rotatable about an imaginary axis of rotation common to both rotors on or through a fuselage part or a support member, each fuselage... | 12/14/1976 |
| 3990658 | Boundary layer control for air cushion landing systems An air cushion landing system for aircraft, ground effect machines and the like utilizing boundary layer control around the outer sides of an inflated bag to improve its aerodynamic characteristics. This is achieved by air jets along the outside walls of ... | 11/09/1976 |
