Apparatus for close formation flight
AssigneeSunlight Photonics Inc.
InventorsSergey V. Frolov, Michael Cyrus, Allan J. Bruce, John P. Moussouris
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of methods and apparatus for close formation flight are provided herein. In some embodiments, an apparatus for close formation flight, comprises a plurality of sensors for collecting measurements characterizing airflow near an aircraft. The plurality of sensors are attachable to at least one of a wing, fuselage, or tail of the aircraft, and the measurements provide information about airflow velocity in a direction transverse to a direction of the aircraft flight.
Claims29
An apparatus for close formation flight, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors for collecting measurements characterizing three-dimensional (3D) airflow near an aircraft, wherein the plurality of sensors are attachable to at least one of a wing, fuselage, or tail of the aircraft, and wherein the measurements provide information about airflow velocity in a direction transverse to a direction of aircraft flight;
- the apparatus further comprising at least one processor;
- and
- a memory associated with the at least one processor for storing the collected measurements, the memory further comprising instructions executable by the processor to
- analyze measurements collected from the plurality of sensors,
- create a computer model predicting at least one 30 airflow pattern based on analysis of the collected measurements,
- obtain one or more additional measurements characterizing airflow near the aircraft, and
- evaluate an error between an airflow parameter value predicted by the computer model and the one or more additional measurements.
An apparatus for close formation flight, comprising:
- a first aircraft having a wing;
- a first plurality of sensors coupled to the first aircraft for collecting measurements characterizing airflow near the first aircraft during close formation flight;
- at least one processor;
- and
- a memory associated with the at least one processor for storing the collected measurements, the memory further comprising instructions executable by the processor to
- analyze measurements collected from the plurality of sensors,
- create a computer model predicting at least one 30 airflow pattern based on analysis of the collected measurements,
- obtain one or more additional measurements characterizing airflow near the aircraft, and
- evaluate an error between an airflow parameter value predicted by the computer model and the one or more additional measurements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.