Personal aircraft device

#The present invention is directed to a personal aircraft device (“PAD”) and a powered personal aircraft device (“PPAD”). Specifically, the present invention is directed to an aircraft device configured to be ridden by a person or user, and/or cooperate and releasably connect to a user's body.

#The concept of an aircraft or glider for accommodating a person so as to fly in air is old. The initial aircraft tended to be unpowered gliders, and/or otherwise configured to be launched from a higher elevation to a lower elevation. For example, a glider could be launched from a tower, wall, hill, rooftop, mountain, cliff, plateau or other suitable higher elevation. These original gliders and even the gliders of today are configured to have high glide ratios to provide a slow and safe descent from one higher elevation to a lower elevation, and land unassisted. Typically, gliders have wings with a high aspect ratio for providing the high glide ratio.

#A powered aircraft capable of gaining altitude was invented, developed and flown by the Wright brothers at the famous site in Kitty Hawk, N.C. Other powered aircraft had been invented and created over the decades in the twentieth century into a wide array of aircraft for numerous applications from civilian aviation, commercial aviation, military aviation into all aspects of aerospace applications. There still exists new and commercially viable conceptual platforms and applications of aerospace, and the present invention is to provide a new aircraft platform and novel applications for a personal aircraft device (“PAD”) and a powered personal aircraft device (“PPAD”).

#FIG. 1 is a first embodiment of a personal aircraft device (“PAD”) according to the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the personal aircraft device shown in FIG. 1.

#FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the personal aircraft device shown in FIG. 1.

#A personal aircraft device (“PAD”) 10 according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1-5.

#The personal aircraft device 10 includes a board 12 and a wing 14. Specifically, the wing 14 includes a pair of separate wing portions 14a and 14b connected to and extending from opposite sides of the board 12. The wing portion 14a and wing portion 14b are hinged to the board 12 by pivotal connectors 16a and 16b, respectively, to allow the wing portions to swing forwardly and/or rearwardly. The wing portions 14a and 14b are provided with ailerons 16a and 16b respectively. The board 12 is provided with a pair of slots 15a and 15b to accommodate inboard portions of the wing portions 14a and 14b to allow hinged movement or swinging thereof.

#The board 12 is provided with a tail 12a (e.g. boom) provided with a vertical stabilizer 20 having a movable rudder portion 22. The board 12 is also provided with another vertical stabilizer or boom 24 supporting a canard type wing 26. The wing 26 is connected to the boom 24 by a pivot connection 28 to allow the wing 26 to pivot or hinge relative to the boom 24. The wing 26 is provided with through holes 30a and 30b to provide handgrips 32a and 32b.