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US 5,697,468 AGranted
Spoiler system for ground effect vehicles
AssigneeFlarecraft Corporation
InventorsWilliam F. Russell, Jr., John Roncz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ground effect vehicle wherein a flap coupled to a spoiler is provided on the wings in order to break lift when the craft starts to leave ground effect travel in order to avoid flight out of ground effect.
Claims6
A vehicle capable of ground effect mode travel over or on water or land, said vehicle comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a hull disposed below the fuselage, the hull having a left side and right side;
- a pair of opposite side wings attached to the fuselage, each wing having a top surface, a bottom surface and an outer edge;
- vehicle propulsion means attached to the fuselage for propelling the vehicle at ground effect flight;
- and
- means for automatically adjusting the vehicle altitude to prevent conventional air flight wherein said means for automatically adjusting said vehicle altitude to prevent conventional air flight comprises a spoiler system on each wing, said spoiler system comprising:
- a downwardly depending flap attached to a hinge on the bottom surface of the wing, the flap being capable of shifting position in reaction to air flow along the bottom surface of the wing;
- and
- a spoiler connected to a hinge on the top surface of the wing, said flap and said spoiler being operably connected together whereby when said flap shifts position in an upward direction in reaction to air flow along the bottom surface of the wing, said spoiler shifts position to prevent conventional air flight.
6 more elements
A vehicle capable of ground effect mode travel over or on water or land said vehicle comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a hull disposed below the fuselage, the hull having a left side and a right side;
- a pair of opposite side wings attached to the fuselage, each wing having a top surface, a bottom surface and an outer edge;
- vehicle propulsion means attached to the fuselage for propelling the vehicle at ground effect flight;
- and
- means for automatically adjusting vehicle altitude to prevent conventional air flight wherein said means for automatically adjusting said vehicle altitude to prevent conventional air flight comprises a spoiler system on each wing said spoiler system comprising:
- a downwardly depending flap attached to a hinge on the bottom surface of the wing the flap being capable of shifting from a deployed position to a retracted position and from said retracted position to said deployed position in reaction to air flow along the bottom surface of the wing;
- and
- a spoiler coupled to the flap such that said spoiler is deployed into the air flow along the top surface of the wing of the vehicle as said flap is shifted into said retracted position to thereby disrupt the air flow along the top surface of the wing, and said spoiler is retracted out of the air flow along the top surface of the wing of the vehicle as said flap is shifted into said deployed position.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.