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US 11,884,376 B2Granted
Landing apparatus for an air vehicle
AssigneeHybrid Air Vehicles Limited
InventorsPaul Macey, Michael Durham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A landing apparatus for an airship or hybrid air vehicle. The landing apparatus comprises a hollow, non-toroidal, flexible enclosure (103), having a substantially vertical axis (104), and a substantially circular cross-section centred on the axis. A base (122) of the enclosure is arranged to contact the ground. The enclosure (103) is inflatable with air or gas for landing, and deflatable for retraction of the enclosure during flight.
Claims17
A landing apparatus for an airship or hybrid air vehicle, the landing apparatus comprising:
- a hollow, non-toroidal, flexible enclosure, having a substantially vertical axis, and a substantially circular cross-section centered on said axis, a base of the enclosure being arranged to contact the ground, the enclosure being inflatable with air or gas for landing, and deflatable for retraction of the enclosure during flight;
- and
- a plurality of tensioning devices, each extending helically from an upper circumferential location of the enclosure to a lower circumferential location, to rotate the base during retraction of the enclosure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.