Did You Know...
...that the Slinky toy was the result of a failed attempt by engineer Richard James to produce an antivibration device for ship instruments? His goal was to develop a spring that would instantaneously counterbalance the wave motion that rocks a ship at sea. Instead, he developed the Slinky.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7374130 | Method and apparatus for vehicle control using variable blade pitch An integrated propulsion and guidance system for an aircraft or other vehicle includes an engine coupled to a propeller via a driveshaft to produce propulsive force. One or more of the propeller blades are pivotably mounted with respect to the hub of the propeller. ... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7357357 | Aircraft mode suppression An aircraft control system operates during landing to suppress normal modes of flexing of the aircraft or modes of rigid rotation. The excitation of the modes are measured using accelerometers attached to the aircraft or strain-measuring devices attached to the land... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7287723 | Tethered or free flight blimp with collapsible tail fins A lighter than air blimp which has either an aerodynamically shaped or a round envelope of flexible sheet material, and a plurality of stabilizing fins mounted in a circumferentially spaced apart arrangement about the tail end portion of the envelope. The tail fins ... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7216831 | Shape changing structure In one preferred embodiment, a structure is provided that includes a body having a first wall and a second wall. At least one appending component extends from an end of the body and includes a first skin and second skin. The structure additionally includes at least ... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7073750 | Propulsion system for model airplane An improved structure and method for powering the flight of a model airplane by positioning the motors and propellers on the back side of the top wings of an airplane using a single or double-deck wing design so that the propellers and motors of the airplane are bet... | 07/11/2006 |
| 6752351 | Low mass flow reaction jet A control system for a flying vehicle in an atmospheric environment, the vehicle having an aerodynamic shape including a front end and a rear end including a plurality of attitude control jet nozzles spaced outward from the vehicle near the rear end of the vehicle o... | 06/22/2004 |
| 6511017 | Method of steering aircraft, and aircraft A method of steering an aircraft, and an aircraft comprising a supporting structure, at least one utility space, at least two propellers whose axles are arranged horizontally, and a driving mechanism to rotate each propeller. The blade angles of at least ... | 01/28/2003 |
| 6488233 | Laser propelled vehicle Provided is a laser propelled craft having a) a forebody or nose, b) a tapering parabolic afterbody optic or mirror, c) a shroud mounted therebetween and extending aft to define an annular space around a portion of the afterbody near its base and d) means... | 12/03/2002 |
| 6131848 | Roadable airplane drive through an automotive transaxle A roadable airplane consists of a single-seat three-wheeled vehicle with wing panels hung longitudinally on the sides of the chassis for road use and attached transversely to a spar box for flight. A power train is used that enables the simultaneous power... | 10/17/2000 |
| 6126111 | Emergency flight control system using one engine and fuel transfer A system for emergency aircraft control uses at least one engine and lateral fuel transfer that allows a pilot to regain control over an aircraft under emergency conditions. Where aircraft propulsion is available only through engines on one side of the ai... | 10/03/2000 |
| 6041273 | Emergency control aircraft system using thrust modulation A digital longitudinal Aircraft Propulsion Control (APC) system of a multiengine aircraft is provided by engine thrust modulation in response to comparing an input flightpath angle signal γc from a pilot thumbwheel or an ILS system with a sensed flightpa... | 03/21/2000 |
| 6036141 | Jet thruster for helicopter antitorque and yaw control system An improved jet thruster system for use in a helicopter without a tail rotor. A non-rotating outer thruster assembly is attached to the rear of the tail boom which, within it, has a source of low pressure air. The outer thruster assembly has a window on e... | 03/14/2000 |
| 6019312 | Airship tail fin construction for improved control Airship tail fins (20) deflect under excessive load on axii (108,110) to protect the airship hull (22) and also reduce angles of attack to disturbing airflow. A propulsion engine (24) may be mounted to the tail fin structure. A longitudinally elongated ro... | 02/01/2000 |
| 5934609 | Deformable propeller blade and shroud A propeller blade fabricated from composite material having a plurality of pper layers, each upper layer being flexible and having fibers oriented in a first direction. The material further includes a plurality of lower layers, each lower layer being flexi... | 08/10/1999 |
| 5906335 | Flight direction control system for blimps A method and apparatus for controlling the flight direction of a blimp. The blimp includes an elongate fuselage for containing a lighter-than-air gas, a movable rudder located toward a tail end of the fuselage, and at least one propeller mounted on a side... | 05/25/1999 |
| 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 |
| 5738301 | Rotary-wing aircraft of the compound type, and rear structural element for such an aircraft The present invention relates to a rotary-wing aircraft, especially such as a helicopter, of the compound type including: a fuselage (2), fixed-wing elements (6) arranged on either side of said fuselage (2), at least one main rotor (4), an anti-torque rear rotor (9... | 04/14/1998 |
| 5368256 | Propulsion system for a lighter-than-air vehicle The invention is a propulsion system for a lighter-than-air vehicle. In detail the propulsion system includes a pylon having a longitudinal axis and first and second ends, the first end of the pylon rotatably mounted to the vehicle and the second end exte... | 11/29/1994 |
| 5330131 | Engines-only flight control system A backup flight control system for controlling the flightpath of a multi-engine airplane using the main drive engines. The backup flight control system comprises an input device for generating a control command indicative of a desired flightpath, a feedba... | 07/19/1994 |
| 5277381 | Rotary wing aircraft shrouded propeller sidewall thruster An improved rotary wing aircraft shrouded propeller ducted tail assembly utilizing the flow pattern of the propeller slip stream exiting from the outlet end of the duct for flight control by means of movable slip stream deflecting surfaces. Three vertical... | 01/11/1994 |
| 5131603 | Rotary wing aircraft split segmented duct shrouded propeller tail assembly An improved version of a vectored thrust ducted propeller tail assembly or "ring tail" for rotary wing aircraft in which a deflecting surface or surfaces is pivotally mounted behind the shrouded propeller in the tail duct for rotation transversely of the ... | 07/21/1992 |
| 5096141 | Aircrane An airship is described that shows a central rigid frame, extending the length of the airship, about which are arranged at least three equally spaced gas envelopes containing a lifting gas. Propulsion units are located at each end of the central frame and... | 03/17/1992 |
| 5087000 | Toy Airplane A radio controlled toy airplane has an airframe with a fixed vertical tail plane, a fixed horizontal tail plane, and at least one set of rightside and leftside propellers. The rotational outputs of the propellers are controlled discretely and continuously... | 02/11/1992 |
| 4934631 | Lighter-than-air type vehicle A lighter-than-air type vehicle comprising a frame-work and a series of inflatable lift bags secured to said framework. The lift bags inwardly contain heating elements and a gas, such as hydrogen or helium, in intimate contact with the heater elements. A ... | 06/19/1990 |
| 4804155 | VTOL aircraft A VTOL aircraft having a fuselage with fixed ring wings on either side thereof. Each ring wing has a rearwardly extending nacelle associated with it. Each nacelle has a ring tail empennage at its after end and a propulsor fan in its nose operating in the ... | 02/14/1989 |
| 4732106 | Steering control for submarines and the like A steering apparatus for steering propulsion devices such as a propeller shaft and rocket exhaust and for aiming devices such a fire hoses and lasers. The steering apparatus provides a rotational component and a tilting component to the orientation of the... | 03/22/1988 |
| 4726547 | Helicopter with high forward speed A helicopter having the usual tiltable, vertical thrust and lift producing rotor, a separate forward thrust producing propeller as well as provisions for yaw control and compensation is improved in that the propeller is constructed as unshrouded propulsio... | 02/23/1988 |
| 4546938 | Power unit for hang-gliders A power unit for a hang-glider (1) or the like comprises a combustion motor (2) connected to one end of a drive shaft (9) and a propeller (10) connected to the other end of the drive shaft. To enable the power unit to be used both with pulling or traction... | 10/15/1985 |
| 4455962 | Spherical underwater vehicle A spherical vehicle for operation in a fluid medium utilizes an actuator disk or propeller of approximately half the diameter of the sphere for propulsion. In addition to providing the energy for driving the sphere, the actuator disk acts to draw the flow... | 06/26/1984 |
| 4436261 | V/STOL Aircraft Various forms of V/STOL aircraft are disclosed, each having a tiltable exterior structure that is in the shape of a pair of connected partial circular conoids. In one general form the conoids house the thrust producing engines, whereas in another form the... | 03/13/1984 |
| 4204656 | Airship control system The invention is a system for providing propulsion, control, and stability to small airships (miniblimps) in free flight, especially lighter than air airships. Propulsion is provided by a single motor. Control is achieved by moving the propulsion motor up... | 05/27/1980 |
