US 4,455,004 A · Flight control device for airplanes

Abstract

Aircraft wing fatigue life and weight are strongly influenced by maximum wing root bending moment. The object of the invention is to augment the wing root bending moment relief that can be provided by the deflection of aircraft ailerons (12) in the conventional manner, while reducing or eliminating aileron induced wing torsional loading. To accomplish this, a movable aerodynamic control surface (14) is mounted on the outboard side of a contoured boom (13) situated at each wingtip. The exact size and location of the control surfaces (14) are determined by the particular aircraft application. Control surface size is a function of the aircraft aileron size, and each control surface (14) is located ahead of the elastic axis (10') of the wing (10). In addition to providing load alleviation, asymmetric deflection of the wingtip control surfaces (14) creates an aircraft rolling moment that adds to that produced by aileron deflection.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A flight control device for an airplane having a fuselage and fixed wings each including an associated aileron comprising:

an aerodynamically configured boom attached to and extending along the outer tip of each said wing and terminating beyond the leading edge of said wing;
a single movable aerodynamic surface of airfoil contour attached to each said boom adjacent the forward end thereof so as to be disposed ahead of the leading edge of the associated wing and lying in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said wing;
and a mechanism operatively connected to each said surface for the deflection thereof relative to the associated wing, such deflection being independent of but concurrent with and in the same direction as the associated aileron.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Flight control device for airplanes

Life of this patent

Flight control device for airplanes

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10