Ultralight aircraft with freely rotating wing

An ultralight aircraft, comprising:

• (a) a hang cage having plural tubular members connected to define a base frame for containing a pilot therewithin and a means for supporting an engine and fuel supply means on the base frame;
• said hang cage further including plural upwardly extending struts attached at upper ends thereof to a hinge connecting plate;
• (b) a wing having a longitudinal central keel, leading edge members connected to and extending rearwardly from a forward end of said keel, a cross brace member connected to and extending transversely from opposite sides of said keel, opposite ends of said cross brace member being respectively attached to the leading edge members, and a flexible lifting panel secured along and between said keel, cross brace member and leading edge members, said flexible panel being unsecured along a trailing edge thereof, said keel being hollow and tubular for minimum weight with maximum strength;
• (c) a pitch hinge bracket means connecting the wing to the upwardly extending plural struts for permitting the wing to freely rotate without pilot intervention about a spanwise axis extending perpendicular to the keel longitudinal axis so that the flexible lifting panel maintains a substantially constant angle of attack irrespective of changes in relative wind tending to be caused by wind gusts;
• and
• (d) means for distributing bending stress loads acting upon opposite ends of the keel to a central portion thereof adjacent the hinge, said loads being induced by relative wind striking the lifting panel causing bending loads to act upon forward and trailing ends of the keel, said stress distributing means including first connecting means attached to said leading and trailing ends and second connecting means connected to the first means for distributing loads transmitted from the first means to the central portion, said first and second connecting means being structure mounted outside the fuselage and incapable of manipulation by the pilot to vary the angle of incidence of the wing with respect to relative wind.

An aircraft, comprising:

• (a) a hang cage having plural tubular members connected to define a base frame for containing a pilot therewithin and a means for supporting an engine and fuel supply means on the base frame, said hang cage further including plural upwardly extending struts attached at upper ends thereof to a hinge connecting plate;
• (b) a wing having a longitudinal central keel, leading edge members connected to and extending rearwardly from a forward end of said keel, a cross brace member connected to and extending transversely from opposite sides of said keel, opposite ends of said cross brace member being respectively attached to the leading edge members, and a flexible lifting panel secured along and between said keel, cross brace member and leading edge members, said keel being hollow and tubular for minimum weight with maximum strength and of greater length than the hang cage;
• (c) a pitch hinge bracket means connecting the wing to the upwardly extending plural struts, said hinge means permitting the wing to freely rotate without pilot intervention about a spanwise axis extending perpendicular to the keel longitudinal axis so that the flexible lifting panel maintains a substantially constant angle of attack irrespective of changes in relative wind tending to be caused by wind gusts;
• and
• (d) means for distributing bending stress loads transmitted to opposite ends of the keel by relative wind striking the flexible lifting panel, said stress distributing means including first connecting means connected to forward and trailing ends of the keel and being further connected to second connecting means attached to the cross brace, said first means being received in said second means so that bending loads acting on the keel at forward and trailing ends thereof are transmitted to the first means as tension loads and to the second means as compression loads distributed to the cross brace, said first and second means being structures mounted outside the hang cage and incapable of manipulation by a pilot to avoid varying the angle of incidence of the wing.