US 6,634,599 B2Granted

Releasable suspension for an airborne store

AssigneeFlight Refuelling Limited

InventorDennis Griffin

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An airborne store suspension and release arrangement includes two slender “Tee” hangers located one on either side of a vertical plane through the center of the store. Each hanger has a narrow strut portion mounted on the store by one end and an enlarged cross section portion at the other end of the narrow strut portion. The enlarged cross section portion of each hanger is clamped by releasable clamps mounted in a store carrying aircraft. The store and the aircraft are formed with surfaces which abut one another when the store is suspended from the aircraft and the enlarged cross section portions of the hangers are clamped by the clamps. The arrangement of the hangers, the clamps and the abutting surfaces establishes a couple in reaction to a rolling moment to which the store is subjected during maneuvering of the aircraft. Only one such a slender ‘Tee’ hanger is aligned with the geometrical center of the store in an alternative embodiment. Again, the combination of the hanger, its clamp and the abutting surfaces establishes a couple in reaction to such a rolling moment. In another embodiment, each of th enlarged cross section portions of the two slender “Tee” hangers is slidably suspended from a respective overhead rail.

Claims15

Dependent claims

An airborne store suspension and release arrangement including at least one hanger having a narrow strut portion and an enlarged cross-section portion, the narrow strut portion being adapted to be mounted by one end on a store so as to be upstanding therefrom and the enlarged cross section portion being at another end of the strut portion, the arrangement also including means adapted to be mounted in structure of store carrying aircraft and operable to embrace said hanger by embracing the enlarged cross section thereof whereby to retain the store suspended from the aircraft and means operable to effect release of the store from the embracing means in order to release the store from the aircraft, wherein means separate from said hanger are provided for operation in combination with the hanger to establish a couple in reaction to a rolling moment to which said store is subjected during maneuvering of said store carrying aircraft when said hanger is mounted on said store and said store is suspended from said aircraft structure, the enlarged cross section portion of said hanger being embraced by said releasable embracing means, wherein said aircraft structure is formed with a slot for the at least one hanger, that slot being just wide enough for the passage through of the respective hanger, the embracing means being within the aircraft structure, and wherein shutter means are provided for covering said at least one slot when no hanger extends through the slot.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.