Aircraft with directional controlling canards
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsAllan L. Caldwell, Richard Hardy, Frank D. Neumann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pair of canards (18, 20) are mounted to the fuselage (22) of an aircraft (10). Each canard is mounted to the fuselage by a hinge (44) for vertical swinging movement. Connected to the hinge (44) is a trunnion (72) about which the canard rotates for incidence adjustment. The hinge (44) for each canard is independently powered by a drive motor (58) enabling the canards (18, 20) to be vertically moved either symmetrically or asymmetrically. Incidence is changed by a rotary actuator housed within the trunnion (72) for each canard. The rotary actuator for each canard is independently operable enabling the canards (18, 20) to be symmetrically or asymmetrically rotated.
Claims9
An aircraft, comprising:
- a fuselage with a pilot's cockpit, and having an upwardly narrowing substantially triangular cross sectional configuration in the region of the cockpit;
- a pair of wings, one on each side of the fuselage;
- a tail section;
- a pair of canards, one mounted on each side of the fuselage forwardly of each wing and adjacent the cockpit region;
- and
- a means for mounting said canards to said fuselage for two-degree freedom of movement, with one degree including canard vertical swinging movement between a retracted position flush against the side of the fuselage and a downwardly extending position substantially parallel to the "z" axis of the aircraft, and with the second degree including canard rotational incidence changing, wherein said means mounts each canard to said fuselage so that the inboard portions of said canards remain substantially adjacent said fuselage during said vertical swinging and incidence changing movement, said means for each canard comprising:
- a powered hinge having an inner portion connected to the fuselage and an outer portion pivotally connected to said inner portion, said outer portion being movable to a selected position relative to said inner portion, and wherein said outer portion may be held in said selected position;
- and
- a trunnion housed in said canard and having first and second ends, with said first end being connected to said movable outer portion so that said trunnion vertically swings when said outer portion pivots relative to said inner portion, and with said canard being pivotally connected to said second end in a manner so that the inboard portion of said canard may remain substantially adjacent said fuselage during vertical swinging and incidence changing movement, and further, said trunnion including actuator means operable to pivot said canard relative to said trunnion, for changing the incidence position of said canard, and for holding the canard in a selected incidence position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.