Flexible airfoils and method
OwnerRichard Charroninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An airfoil for use in kites, movable wing aircraft and fixed wing aircraft has a straight spar inserted into a sleeve in the arcuate leading edge of a flexible wing panel. The resultant forces on the spar dynamically shape the airfoil. The airfoil is reinforced by battens between the leading edge and the trailing edge of the wing panel. Flight control is maintained through control lines warping the airfoil.
Claims15
In an aerial vehicle capable of controlled flight, an airfoil comprising a flexible wing panel having a leading edge and a trailing edge separated by a chord with a wing tip at each end of said wing panel, said leading edge of said wing panel formed in an arc to increase said length of said chord between each said wing tip, a flexible spar attached to said leading edge whereby said spar is dynamically loaded to conform with said leading edge arc shaping camber to said airfoil wherein said wing panel includes a plurality of stiffeners attached to said wing panel and extending along said chord of said wing panel from said leading edge to said trailing edge and being spaced apart along the length of said wing panel between each said wing tip, said plurality of stiffeners being independent from said flexible spar.
In a method of making an airfoil the steps comprising
- a) providing a first flat panel of flexible material;
- b) shaping said panel in a narrow elongated form having a leading edge and a trailing edge separated by a chord, said leading edge and said trailing edge intersecting at each end of said elongated form;
- c) forming said leading edge in an arc such that the intermediate chord is longer than each end;
- d) providing a flexible straight spar of a length to extend between said ends of said elongated form;
- e) bending said spar and attaching said spar to said arc of said leading edge;
- and
- f) forming camber in said flat panel resulting from the dynamic bending of said spar to conform to said arc including the step of attaching stiffeners solely to said panel extending along the length of said chord at spaced intervals independent of said spar.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.