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US 2013/0075538 A1Published application
Transport Aircraft Hull Attachment System
AssigneeWipaire, Inc.
InventorRobert D. Wiplinger
Life of this patent
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AssigneeWipaire, Inc.
InventorRobert D. Wiplinger
Estimating the term…
An aircraft hull attachment device may be configured for attachment to a fuselage of an aircraft. The aircraft hull attachment device can include one or more floats to enable the aircraft to operate on water. The aircraft hull attachment device can also include a structure such as, for example, a saddle-shaped structure, for mounting the device against a bottom region of a fuselage of the aircraft. Upon being operatively coupled to the aircraft, the aircraft hull attachment device can convert an aircraft previously configured to operate only on ground landing strips into an aircraft configured to operate on water landing strips. Additionally or alternatively, the device can include a water tank and a water-tank door to enable the aircraft to which the device is mounted to perform in-flight water drops (e.g., during fire fighting aerial operations).
An aircraft hull attachment device configured for attachment to a fuselage of an aircraft, the device having two laterally spaced-apart floats for enabling the aircraft to takeoff from and land on water, the device having a saddle wall configured to nest about a belly of the fuselage such that when the device is mounted operably on the fuselage a base region of the saddle wall is carried against a bottom region of the fuselage while confronting side regions of the saddle wall are carried against opposed sidewalls of the fuselage.
An aircraft hull attachment device configured for attachment to a fuselage of an aircraft, the device having two laterally spaced-apart floats for enabling the aircraft to takeoff from and land on water, the device also having two opposed wings extending outwardly away from the floats, wherein when the device is mounted operably on the fuselage of the aircraft the wings of the device are substantially parallel to wings of the aircraft, the wings defining sponsons that laterally stabilize the aircraft when floating on a body of water, the device having a water tank and a water-drop door.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.