Joseph DeLOUISE
Short-Coupled Airplane
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/covers
Mechanics Illustrated
-- October 1952 ...
1980s ... Hunh ... ??
Newsreal Series (1980s), p. 46
Unschooled Psychic Dreams Up Remarkable Aircraft Invention
by
Tom Valentine
Five years ago psychic Joseph DeLouise had a dream in which the great Italian master Leonardo DaVinci appeared to him and inexplicably ‘designed’ a remarkable aircraft.
Although DeLouise had no formal education beyond the fifth grade, the famed Chicago seer scribbled a rough sketch of the aircraft from the vision and today he and some associates are planning to build a production model of the ‘commuter airplane of the future’.
‘We’ve built and flow a radio-controlled model and it lived up to all our expectations’, DeLouise told NewsReal, ‘and now we need to raise the funds for the full size prototype.’
Grinning from ear to ear, the man who says his life is a ‘psychic mission’ watched as the model plane soared overhead, demonstrating amazing flight stability.
‘It’s almost impossible to crash this plane’, DeLouise remarked happily. ‘It’s so easy to learn to fly and it will someday be the commuter’s delight.’
Though many inventors credit special ‘inspiration’ that borders on psychic phenomena for their ideas, DeLouise is the first case on record of an acclaimed seer coming up with a productive invention by purely psychic means.
‘At first I thought I was going crazy, which is usually the case when this kind of clear, real-life vision comes to me. But I soon realized that I was going through a psychic experience and not an ordinary dream as the bearded figure in my vision spoke to me.’
DaVinci, according to DeLouise, sketched the aircraft for the attentive psychic and tried to explain the various aeronautical principles as he sketched.
‘The experience was so vivid, it was real. He would pause as he spoke to make sure I understood. And even though I don’t know flaps from landing gear, I somehow understood what he was saying and later I had no trouble remembering the design.’
The next day DeLouise called this reporter, who is also his biographer and said:
‘’Tom, I had the craziest experience last night. Leonardo DaVinci appeared to me and showed me how to design an uncrashable airplane.’
As usual, I thought Joe was partially unglued, but because I had been amazed in the past, I didn’t scoff at him. Thus encouraged he began the long quiet pursuit of making a reality out of his vision.
He arranged to have drawings made by a dentist friend who was also a competent pilot and aeronautical engineer. The drawings slowly evolved into models and finally radio-controlled, gasoline-driven models.
“Of course a radio-controlled sale model may not have exactly the same flight characteristics as a full-sized prototype, but our model has continued to outperform all other models and this is encouraging,’ DeLouise said, sounding like an engineer and demonstrating how quickly a psychic mind catches on.
The personable seer cannot hide his enthusiasm as he described the remarkable creation plucked from his ‘DaVinci Vision’.
‘It’s going to be the most fantastic airplane in existence. It’s so simple and safe in its operation that anyone can learn to fly it in a fraction of the time it takes to learn to fly any standard aircraft today.
‘I see it as the aircraft the world is waiting for and that’s why the spirit of DaVinci gave it to me’, DeLouise stressed.
Practical thinking people may very well pooh-pooh the notion that the spirit of Leonardo really did appear to DeLouise, but, frankly, there is no more logical explanation.
A man with little education or engineering experience designed an aircraft that:
Utilizes full san flaps ob both its wigs to not only increase or decrease the lift of its wings, but also control itself. The flaps on this visionary plane are also ailerons and elevators. The endplates that connect the two wings serve as rudders and vertical stabilizers.
Climbs and descends in an almost perfectly horizontal attitude (Attitude is the aeronautical term used to describe the angle of a plane with respect to the horizon). The placement of the wings makes his possible and also prevents the plane from nose-diving or becoming dangerously over-controlled.
Remains stable in flight. It will turn without skidding and tend to stabilize in a level attitude no matter what happens, including any loss of power.
Lands and takes off in a very short area, meaning less space will be needed for airport runways.
Easily converts into passenger, cargo, crop-dusting, low-level military reconnaissance, amphibious glider and hang-glider crafts.
Lifts more weight because of its ‘center of gravity’ design.
Provides unparalleled visibility to the pilot and passengers.
The aircraft industry is more than 70 years old and has turned out some remarkable flying machines --- but nothing in the annals of invention matches this remarkable vision that’s blossomed into reality.
Ironically it is a genius from the past, DaVinci, who DeLouise credits with wanting man to soar above the ground.
‘The only reason I claimed that the person in my vision was Leonardo’, DeLouise explained, ‘was because this was my immediate impression of who I was listening to and he didn’t make any move to correct my thinking about who he was. Yet later when my thinking was incorrect regarding what he was saying about the plane, he corrected it, even though I didn’t say a word’.
You and I might say that carrying on a conversation with a
bearded Italian artist from several hundred years ago about an
airplane of the future is insanity
.
But to DeLouise the experience was almost commonplace.
‘I got the impression as he was talking that he really would have enjoyed materializing and building the thing himself. He seemed so enthusiastic in the vision, and I knew his ideas would work because he left no doubt that he knew what he was talking about.’
DeLouise said he also got the impression that the great artist-scientist from the past selected the Italian-American because he knew DeLouise would not be afraid to announce the vision and try to make it work.
‘Of course these things were only impressions --- but remember, that’s all a psychic deals with’, DeLouise noted.
Scoffers and skeptics are welcome to ridicule the story of the vision, DeLouise stressed. ‘It’s up to them to figure out how I managed to design such a plane’.
Visionary Design Overcomes Several Problems of Drag
by
Tom Valentine
For the aeronautical buff who understands the concepts, here are some of the principles involved in Joe DeLouise’s ‘DaVinci Vision’ as outlined by an expert:
‘An airplane design is a compromise between its cruising speed and its landing speed. Usually a fast cruising craft lands fast and a slow cruising plane lands slow. The use of flaps on an airplane is a device to allow fast airplanes to lad a little slower and also tae off in a shorter distance.
However, flaps add to the cost and weight of an airplane and usually create a disturbing airflow over the tail section when lowered for landings. Because of this air disturbance the tail section must be made larger to offset this effect, and again more cost and weight has been added.
‘This plane, on the other hand, eliminates all of these faults and problems by using full span flaps on both of its wings to not only increase or decrease the lift, but also to control and stabilize itself. The flaps also act as elevators and ailerons.
‘The endplates, connecting the wings, carry the vertical stabilizers and rudders so the plane doesn’t require a tail the size of the one on a standard type plane. This unique design provides smooth, undisturbed airflow over all the operating surfaces.
‘The wings are placed as follows: The rear wing is approximately one wing chord aft of the forward wing, with a gap of about two-thirds of the wing chord.
‘Each wing carries an ELEFLAP (combination elevators and flaps) which operate in unison. They are activated by the forward or backward movement of the control column. When the control column is back, both eleflaps move downward in unison imparting an increase in the lift to both wings.
‘The rear eleflap moves to a lesser degree than the forward eleflap because of its greater distance from the center of gravity. Since the upper flap is slightly forward of the center of gravity, a downward movement of the flap causes the nose of the craft to rise. At the same time the downward movement of the rear flap causes the nose of the plane to move down. Thus, the ratio of the eleflap’s synchronized movement controls the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.
‘This ratio can be adjusted to give the aircraft any desired attitude when climbing or descending. A slight nose up attitude when climbing and a slight nose down attitude when descending seem the safest, most effective and efficient attitude.
‘Conversely, when the control column is moved forward, both eleflaps move upward in unison causing a loss of lift to both wings and the airplane descends in a near level attitude.
‘The compact configuration and the endplates make it theoretically possible to make banked turns with rudder action only. When turning in flight the endplates prevents the airplane from going into a skid and force it into a bank, thus making a naturally banked turn.
‘The endplates being deposed from the forward wing to the rear wing does not mean a preponderance of area at the extremity of the craft as does the vertical stabilizer in a standard configuration.
‘Although the airplane is short-coupled, its directional
stability is extremely strong because of the placement of the
rear wing well aft of the center of gravity, and also because of
the placement of the vertical stabilizers and rudders on the
endplates.
Is compactness of design provides the craft with a pendulum
effect that tends to stay straight and level at all times. It
most likely will be required that the pilot hold the plane into
its turns, because as soon as controls are released there will
be a strong tendency to stabilize.
‘Despite the tendency for stabilization, maneuverability is greater than with standard aircraft. This has been proven in radio-controlled flights.
‘Most of the short field takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft today are merely standard design vehicles with more expensive flaps, dropping ailerons and so forth. The chief problem with these standard STOL types is inadequate control at lower speeds. Because they must operate at high angles of attack for landings and takeoffs, their control surfaces operate in a disturbed airflow created by the wings and flaps. Consequently, their control surfaces must be much larger than in ordinary aircraft, thereby creating more weight and drag.
‘Another great advantage of this design is that it employs two large flaps, which unlike any other aircraft, also control the altitude of the plane safely without need f additional drag producing tail surfaces.
‘Additionally, the airfoils may be thin, thereby cutting down on the frontal area of the aircraft. This is possible because of the short span wings and high lift flaps. These features provide a high speed potential, quick takeoff and very low landing speed.
‘The absence of the conventional fuselage and tail assembly, which are normally located aft of the propeller, adapts the design perfectly for a pusher configuration with its attendant efficient slipstream freedom and quietness plus safety of operation. The torque force is also absent, making the twist in a wing unnecessary, thereby saving on further drag.’
US Patent # 3,985,317
Short Coupled Airplane with Variable Wing Lift
Joseph DeLouis & Alexander Geraci
( October 12, 1976 )
Abstract
A short coupled airplane with variable wing lift comprising a fuselage that is free of the conventional tail assembly and has a wing structure comprising a plurality of short span wing segments spaced apart longitudinally of the fuselage with the forwardmost wing section being located forwardly of and above the level of the aircraft center of gravity, and the rearwardmost wing section being located rearwardly of, and below the level of the aircraft center of gravity. The wing sections at their projecting ends on either side of the airplane are connected by vertical airfoils each equipped with a rudder. The wing sections along their trailing edges are each equipped, on either side of the fuselage, with full span, vertically swingable members that combine the functions of flaps and elevators (and are thus called eleflaps). The eleflaps and rudders are respectively moved in unison to elevate, lower, and steer the aircraft. The aircraft is driven pusher style by a propeller driven motor located in vertical alignment with the aircraft center of gravity.
Current U.S. Class: 244/13 ; 244/45R
Current International Class: B64C 39/06 (20060101); B64C
39/00 (20060101); B64C 003/06 ()
Field of Search: 244/45R,45A,42CC,35R,13,87,54
D12/77,78,71
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
1861491 June 1932 Capelis
1895140 January 1933 Stage
1927753 September 1933 Porcello
2151128 March 1939 Looney
2406625 August 1946 Oglesby
2713465 July 1955 Novinger
3202383 August 1965 Le Bel et al.
D185546 June 1959 Geraci
Foreign Patent Documents
1,141,371 Sep., 1957 FR
Other References
Saab TN 60, "Basic Low Speed Aerodynamics of the Short Coupled
Canard Configuration of Small AR" Behrbohm, July 1965..
Description
This invention is directed to powered aircraft, and more particularly to propeller driven airplanes.
Conventionally, propeller driven airplane design calls for a fuselage equipped with wings having a large span relative to their chord, with the average ratio of span to chord being about 7. The wings are equipped adjacent their ends with ailerons which are operated cooperatively so that an upward movement of one aileron is accompanied by a downward movement of the other aileron; they are operated by sideways movement of the pilot's control column, and are the means by which the wings are kept level for straight flight, or banked for a turn. The wings also include, inwardly of the ailerons, lift control flaps that swing in the same direction vertically to permit fast planes to land at slower speeds and to take off in shorter distances.
The fuselage of conventional airplanes traditionally is equipped at its rear end, usually at a distance of some three chords behind the leading edge of the wings, with a tail assembly, usually including a vertical stabilizer equipped at its trailing edge with the rudder, and a horizontal stabilizer equipped at its trailing edge with an elevator. The vertical stabilizer provides for vertical stabilization and the rudder it carries is for directional steering. The horizontal stabilizer balances or trims the plane, that is, insures that the resultant of all the air forces acting on the plane passes through the center of gravity of the plane. The elevator is the primary control organ of the plane since by it the pilot alters the angle of incidence of the wings and hence controls the plane speed.
The design specified for a particular airplane construction is fundamentally a compromise between its cruising speed and its landing speed. Usually a fast cruising airplane lands fast and a slow cruising airplane lands slow. The use of flaps on the airplane wings is to provide for fast planes to land at a reduced speed, and also to take off in a shorter distance than might otherwise be possible. However, such flaps add to the cost and weight of the airplane, and usually create a disturbing air flow over the aircraft tail section when lowered for landings, which requires an enlargement of the tail section to offset this effect, again adding to the cost and weight problems involved. Furthermore, in most standard type of airplanes, much of the fuselage is located aft of the aircraft center of gravity, and the major function of that portion of the fuselage is to carry the tail assembly. Thus, much of the fuselage defines wasted space since any significant loading up towards the tail assembly would make the aircraft tail heavy.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide an airplane arrangement that climbs and descends in a level or near level attitude, and has stability characteristics that are markedly improved over those of conventional airplanes.
Another principal object of the invention is to provide an airplane arrangement, utilizing components historically known to be reliable in the practice of aerodynamics, which minimizes controls to be handled while providing an aircraft of greatly improved maneuverability and stability.
Another important object of the invention is to eliminate the need for the usual tail assembly and adapt the airplane and fuselage for location of baggage or cargo space at or near the center of gravity of the aircraft.
Still other objects of the invention are to provide an airplane arrangement adapted for pusher propulsion with its attendant efficient slipstream freedom and quietness and safety of operation, to provide an airplane vertical airfoil arrangement that reduces the need to "crab" when landing in a cross wind, to provide a basic airplane arrangement susceptible of wide utilization, and to provide an aircraft that is economical of manufacture, convenient, economical, and safe to operate, and that is adapted for a wide variety of both civilian and military purposes, and that is also spin proof.
In accordance with the invention, the airplane fuselage is short coupled and has no tail assembly. The wing structure comprises a plurality of short span wing sections that are spaced apart longitudinally and vertically of the fuselage, with the forwardmost wing section being located forwardly of the craft center of gravity and adjacent the top level of the craft, and the rearwardmost wing section being located rearwardly of the center of gravity and sufficiently below the wing sections forward of it to be below their slipstreams. The wing sections along their trailing edges are each equipped, on either side of the fuselage, with vertically movable members that combine the functions of elevators and flaps, (and are thus herein called eleflaps), which members function not only to increase and decrease the wing lift, but also to control vertical movement of the craft. The wing sections at their ends or tips, on either side of the airplane, are connected together by vertical airfoils that are each equipped with a rudder for steering purposes.
The eleflaps serve the functions of flaps, ailerons and elevators, and provide for vertical movement of the craft in a level or near level attitude. The vertical airfoils serve as the craft vertical stabilizers, and are proportioned and located to achieve lateral plane movement in cross winds that permits cross wind landing with minimal crabbing. The rudders are arranged to operate in unison to achieve turns in flight.
Other objects, uses and advantages will be obvious or become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the application drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view, largely in block diagram form illustrating one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the aircraft shown in FIG. 1;
FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating the manner in which the craft eleflaps are operated to move the aircraft vertically;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but on a smaller scale and diagrammatically illustrating the manner in which the rudder operate;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention:
FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the aircraft shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of an articulated linkage control arrangement for actuating the eleflaps of the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 from the pilots control column;
FIG. 9 diagrammatically illustrates a suitable rudder control arrangement for the aircraft of this invention; and
FIG. 10 illustrates a detail aspect of the rudder control arrangement of FIG. 9.
However, it is to be distinctly understood that the drawing illustrations provided are supplied primarily to comply with the requirements of the Patent Laws, and that the invention is susceptible of the variations and modifications that will be obvious to those skilled in the art which are intended to be covered by the appended claims.
Reference numeral 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 generally indicates one embodiment of the invention which comprises fuselage 12 equipped with wing structure 14 and a pusher type propeller 16 suitably powered by a suitable motor appropriately mounted and housed within the fuselage where indicated by reference numeral 18.
The fuselage 12 defines forward end 20 and aft end 22 that are given appropriate streamlined contour. As has been pointed out hereinbefore, the fuselage 12 lacks the usual tail assembly; it includes a suitable operator's cockpit where indicated at 21, passenger or cargo space where indicated at 23, and suitable ground support wheels 25.
The wing structure 14 is of special configuration and comprises a forward short span wing section 24 and a rearward or aft short span wing section 26 suitably united with the fuselage in any conventional manner consistent with good engineering practice. On either side of the aircraft, the end 28 of wing section 24 is joined to the end 30 of wing section 26 by vertical airfoil 32, and the end 34 of wing section 24 is joined to the end 36 of wing section 26 by vertical airfoil 38.
The wing section 24 on either side of the aircraft is equipped with full span vertically movable eleflaps 40 and 42, while the wing section 26 is similarly equipped with full span vertically movable eleflaps 44 and 46.
The vertical airfoil 32 at its trailing end 48 is equipped with horizontally movable rudder 50 suitably pivotally mounted for movement about upright axis 51, while the airfoil 38 at its trailing end 52 is equipped with horizontally movable rudder 54 suitably pivotally mounted for movement about upright axis 55.
The wing sections 24 and 26 may be of essentially conventional wing design except for the short span and other considerations indicated. Wing section 26 is disposed approximately one wing chord aft of the wing section 24, so that a gap 56 is defined by the wing sections 24 and 26 making up the wing structure 14. Wing section 26 is also at a level below that of wing section 24 that is equivalent to approximately one half wing chord.
The eleflaps 40, 42, 44 and 45 may be constructed and mounted in the same manner as conventional elevators or flaps. Wing section 24 is located forwardly of the aircraft center of gravity, indicated at 60 in FIG. 1-5, with the eleflaps 40 and 42 of the wing section 26 being disposed above the center of gravity in the embodiment shown and mounted for pivotal swinging movement about pivot axes 58 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) that extend longitudinally of wing section 26; eleflaps 44 and 46 are suitably mounted for pivotal movement about axes 59 that extend longitudinally of wing section 26. The eleflaps 40, 42, 44, and 46 are connected for actuation from the pilot's control column 62 in such a manner (see, for instance, FIG. 8) that they operate in unison, and all eleflaps move in the same direction. It is also important that the aft eleflaps 44 and 46 move to a lesser degree than the forward eleflaps 40 and 42 because of their greater distance from the center of gravity 60 of the craft.
As a general proposition, in accordance with this invention, the forwardmost wing section should be located so that its eleflaps are disposed above or forwardly of the aircraft center of gravity. Also, the vertical swinging movement of the respective eleflaps is approximately inversely proportional to the distance of the respective eleflap centers of movement forward or aft of the craft center of gravity. Thus, where the forwardmost eleflap is located in substantial vertical alignment with the craft center of gravity, such eleflap will have maximum vertical movement and the rearward eleflap will have a vertical movement inversely proportional to the distance of its axis of movement aft of the center of gravity.
The actuation of the eleflaps 40, 42, 44 and 46 is made that when the pilot's control column is moved rearwardly, as indicated in FIG. 3, the eleflaps 40, 42, 44 and 46 are lowered about their respective pivotal axes. Since the forward eleflaps 40 and 42 are substantially aligned with the craft's center of gravity, longitudinally of the aircraft, when such eleflaps are moved downwardly the result is that the forward end or nose 20 of the aircraft is caused to rise, as indicated in FIG. 3. At the same time, similar movement of the eleflaps 44 and 46 tends to cause the forward end or nose of the aircraft to move downwardly. The lesser degree of movement of the rearward eleflaps 44 and 46 is needed because of their distance from the center of gravity longitudinally of the aircraft, whereby they provide a greater moment in effecting the attitude of the aircraft.
Where the control column 62 is moved forwardly, as when descending, the forward wing section eleflaps 40 and 42 move upwardly thereby causing the nose of the aircraft to move downwardly (as indicated in FIG. 4), while the wing section eleflaps 40, and 46 move upwardly tending to cause the aircraft nose to move upwardly.
It will thus be seen that there is a critical ratio of forward wing span eleflap movement to rearward wing span flap movement, in unison, relative to the craft center of gravity, which controls the attitude of the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. This ratio can be set or adjusted to give the aircraft a desired attitude when climbing or descending. Preferably the ratio selected will provide a slight nose up attitude when climbing and slight nose down attitude when descending, from the standpoint of safety, efficiency and effectiveness.
The further back the control column 60 is moved, the greater is the increase that is provided in the lift of both wing sections for climbing in a level or near level attitude, while when the control column is pushed forward, both wing sections lose lift and the aircraft descends in a level or near level attitude.
The rudders 50 and 54 are similarly controlled by pilot operated foot pedals to move in unison in the same direction. The rudders 50 and 54 are suitably mounted for pivotal movement about axes 51 and 55 that are vertically disposed when the aircraft is in a level attitude, and the pivotal mounting involved may be achieved in any suitable manner consistent with good aerodynamics engineering practice. FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate diagrammatically a suitable rudder control arrangement.
The short wing span of the aircraft 10 gives it a compact configuration. As a general proposition, in accordance with the invention the wing span may be substantially equal to or less than the length of the fuselage, and have a chord to span length ratio on the order of four to one. The wing and fuselage arrangement indicated also provides for the center of lift of the aircraft to be located one third of the distance (longitudinally of the craft) between the centers of lift of the forward and rearward wing sections (aft of the forward wing section center of left), and also to be located in substantial vertical alignment with the center of gravity 60.
The general combination provided by the compact aircraft configuration, its vertical airfoils 32 and 38, and the rudder action provided permits the aircraft to make banked turns with rudder action only, thereby eliminating the need for ailerons for shorter wing span models. When the aircraft is in flight and the rudders 50 and 54 are actuated for turning purposes, for instance, a turn to the right as indicated in FIG. 5, the vertical air foils 32 and 38 prevent the aircraft from going into a skid, and the aircraft is forced into a bank, thus making a naturally banked turn. The air foils 32 and 38, in extending between the forward and rearward wing sections, do not present a proponderance of area at the rear portion of the aircraft, as does the vertical stabilizer of the usual tail assembly, while presenting a relative large effective area adjacent the craft center of gravity.
In spite of the short coupled nature of the aircraft 10, its directional stability is very good because of the placement of the rearmost wing section 26 well aft of the aircraft center of gravity, and also because of the disposition of the wing structure 14 and airfoils 32 and 38 to either side of the aircraft at the ends of the wing sections.
The result is that when the aircraft experiences wind from one side of same, fishtailing is avoided and application of moments to the fuselage is also avoided because the tail assembly is omitted from the aircraft 10. The two rudders 50 and 54 when operated provide an effective moment for steering purposes that is equivalent to the location of a single rudder where indicated by reference numeral 66 in FIG. 5.
In aircraft 70 of FIGS. 6 and 7, the fuselage 72 is provided with wing structure 74 that comprises a plurality of wing sections 76, 78 and 80 in which the forwardmost wing section 76 is located forwardly of the aircraft center of gravity (indicated at 82) while the rearwardmost wing section 80 is spaced rearwardly or aft of the aircraft approximately two wing chords. The wing section 76 is disposed at the upper level of the aircraft while the wing sections 78 and 80 are disposed at spaced levels below the level of the section 76, as suggested in FIG. 7. Gap 82 separates wing sections 76 and 78 while gap 84 separates wing sections 78 and 80. Fuselage has nose portion 85 and tail portion 87, but no tail assembly of the conventional type.
Wing section 76 is provided with a full span eleflap 86, wing section 78 is provided with a full span eleflap 88 and wing span section 80 is provided with a full span eleflap 90. Eleflaps 86, 88 and 90 may be comparable in structure to conventional elevators and flaps and mounted and controlled in the manner already indicated with respect to the aircraft 10, so as to pivot about the respective pivot axes 89, 91 and 93.
The wing sections 76, 78, 80 at their ends 92, 94 and 96 are connected together by vertical foil 98 while wing section ends 100, 102 and 104 are connected together by vertical foil 106. Vertical foil 98 is provided with rudder 108 at its trailing end, mounted for pivotal movement about upright axis 109, while vertical foil 106 is provided with rudder 110 at its trailing end, mounted for pivotal movement about upright axis 111. Rudders 108 and 110 are mounted and operated in a manner comparable to rudders 50 and 54 of aircraft 10.
The aircraft 70 is provided with suitable propeller 112 driven by a suitable motor (not shown) suitably mounted and housed within the fuselage approximately where indicated at 114, through suitable shafting and gearing operating in housing structure 116 that in the form shown extends through the wing section 78.
The fuselage 72 is suitably arranged and constructed to define the usual operator's cockpit where indicated at 118, a fuel tank where indicated at 120, and baggage compartment where indicated at 122. The aircraft 70 is provided with suitable riding wheels 124 and 126, in the form illustrated.
In the aircraft 70, the rearward wing sections are spaced approximately one-half chord length longitudinally of the craft, and are spaced or staggered approximately one-third of a chord length vertically of the craft.
The aircraft 70 is operated in the same manner as aircraft 10. The eleflaps 88 and 90 are operated to move vertically, relative to the corresponding movement of eleflap 86, in proportion to their distances from the center of gravity of the aircraft, longitudinally of the fuselage, and as described with reference to the aircraft 10.
The vertical foils of aircraft 10 and 70 are disposed in vertical planes that parallel the longitudinal axis of the craft. These vertical foils may be of any suitable airfoil construction consistent with good aircraft engineering practice.
A typical eleflap actuation arrangement 150 is shown in FIG. 8 for the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, wherein the pilot's control column 62 is shown pivotally mounted (in the craft) for pivotal movement about axis 152, and is pivotally connected as at 154 to link 156 that is in turn pivotally connected as at 158 to bell crank lever 160 pivotally mounted for pivotal movement about axis 162. Bell crank lever 160 is pivotally connected as at 164 to link 166 that is in turn pivotally connected as at 168 to bell crank lever 170 pivotally mounted for pivotal movement about axis 172. Bell crank lever 170 is pivotally connected as at 174 to link 176 that is pivotally, connected as at 178 to crank arm 180 that is fixed to eleflap 86. Link 176 is also pivotally connected at the same pivot point 178 to link 180 which in turn is pivotally connected as at 182 to crank arm 184 that is fixed to eleflap 88. Link 180 is also connected at pivot 182 to link 186 that is pivotally connected as at 188 to crank arm 190 that is fixed to eleflap 90.
As eleflap 86 is disposed above the craft center of gravity 82, crank arms 184 and 190 are given effective lengths inversely proportional to their positions aft of the center of gravity, relative to the length of crank arm 180, whereby the degree of pivotal movement of the respective eleflaps 88 and 90 has the inversely proportional relationship to the degree of pivotal movement of the eleflap 86 that has been indicated. The result is that, assuming the position A of the pilots control column 62 is the level flight position, moving the control column 62 to the B and C positions provides the corresponding positions of the eleflaps 86, 88, and 90 that are indicated by the corresponding primed letters. In the B position of control column 62 lift is increased, while in the C position of column 62, lift is decreased.
In practice, the location and positioning of the various components of eleflap control arrangement 150 is made consistent and compatible with good aircraft engineering design. A similar eleflap arrangement for the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5 is provided by eliminating the link 186 and the parts it controls, and proportioning the length of the crank arms for eleflaps 40, 42, 44 and 46 in accordance with the principles already mentioned. The link corresponding to link 180 would for the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, have a length consistent with the positioning of the forward and aft eleflaps. Of course, the eleflaps of the respective wing sections 24 and 26 may be suitably connected together for synchronous operation by a single eleflap control arrangement of the type indicated.
Where it is found desirable to provide for operation of the eleflaps in the manner of ailerons, suitable alternately operable controls conventionally arranged may be employed.
In the showings of FIGS. 9 and 10, the rudder control arrangement 200 involves a pair of foot operated pedal levers 202 and 204, pivotally mounted as at 206 and 208, respectively, and disposed on either side of the control column 62. Lever 202 is connected to crank arm 209 of rudder 50 by cable 210 trained about suitable guide pulleys 212, while lever 204 is connected to crank arm 213 of rudder 54 by cable 214 trained about suitable guide pulleys 216. Cable 218 trained about suitable guide pulleys 220 is connected between crank arm 222 of rudder 50 and crank arm 224 of rudder 54. The cables 210 and 214 are suitably tensioned and operably mounted relative to the craft so that the pilot by moving levers 202 and 204 in opposite directions, using his feet applied to the respective pedals 226 and 228, may simultaneously swing the rudders 50 and 54 from side to side to steer the craft as needed.
Of course, other rudder controls providing for the indicated simultaneous and synchronous swinging movement of rudders 50 and 54 may be utilized, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
It will therefore be seen that the invention provides an aircraft of compact configuration that provides unusual stability in flight together with the advantages of level or near level attitude for both ascent and descent. The compact configuration of the aircraft together with the placement of the wing structure of same, the short spans of the wings, and the vertical foils, provides the aircraft with a pendulum effect in which the main weight of the aircraft is located adjacent or in vertical alignment with its center of gravity whereby the aircraft tends towards level attitude at all times. Even in making a turn, the aircraft has a strong tendency to return to straight and level flight and thus on release of control in making a turn the craft will return to straight and level flight.
The aircraft of this invention also overcomes the main fault of a two-control airplane, that is, the inability of such aircraft to enter into a slide slip. Not only will the aircraft of this invention not enter into a side slip, but it moves vertically in a far more superior manner.
Thus, the pilot by pushing his control column forward can make the aircraft lose altitude very rapidly without gaining any forward speed and while remaining in a level or near level attitude.
The smooth unobstructed airflow past all the control surfaces of the aircraft of this invention make the aircraft fully controllable at all speeds without added weight or drag. This especially suits aircraft involving the invention for short field landing and take-off (STOL). Most STOL aircraft at the present time involve expensive flaps, drooping ailerons, and the like to facilitate landing and take-off but result in inadequate control at the lower speeds. Because such conventional craft must operate at higher angles of attack for landings and take-off, their control surfaces operate in a disturbed airflow created by the wings and flaps and therefore their control surfaces must be much larger than in ordinary aircraft, thereby creating more weight and drag.
The wing section eleflaps provided by the invention safely control the attitude of the aircraft and without the need of extra drag producing tail surfaces. In addition, the eleflap control surfaces operate in an undisturbed air flow. As the arrangement of the present invention utilizes high lift eleflaps and short span wings, the air foils involved may be relatively thin thereby cutting down on the frontal area of the aircraft. This, in conjunction with the lack of a tail assembly, gives the aircraft of the invention a high speed potential, and quick take-off capability with low landing speeds. As altitude can be lost rapidly without gaining ground speed, side slips are unnecessary.
The absence, in the arrangement of the present invention, of the convenional tail assembly aft of the propeller adapts the Applicant's aircraft arrangement perfectly for a pusher type propulsion configuration with its attendant efficient slip stream freedom and quietness and safety of operation. Due to the operation of pusher type propulsion in the hereindisclosed arrangement, torque is absent in the applicant's arrangement thereby eliminating the need for a twist in the wings or offset vertical stabilizers.
The arrangement of this invention makes a large passenger or cargo space at or adjacent the center of gravity of the aircraft, thereby permitting greater loads to be carried with ease and in greater safety.
The positioning of the rearward or aft wing sections of the craft relative to the forward wing sections, improves the lift to drag ratio of the forward wing sections due to the fact that low pressure areas along the upper surfacing of the rearward wings tend to draw air from the trailing edge of the immediately preceding wing section, thus straightening out the wing edge vortices and reducing the drag resulting from such vortices. As a result, the positioning of the wing sections as indicated provides a total wing lift that is greater than the summation of the lift provided by each wing section if same were considered functioning independently.
The vertical airfoils, in having a substantial area of same adjacent the center of gravity of the craft, and thus the center of lift, provide for a lateral movement of the aircraft in crosswinds, which avoids or reduces crabbing needed for landing in crosswinds. The vertical air foils also confine air flow to through the gaps between the wing sections, thereby contributing further to wing tip vortex reduction. Also, air flow is blocked, by the vertical air foils, from up around the wing tips.
Of course the visibility afforded the pilot from the cockpit, due to the pusher type propulsion employed, and the ease of entering and leaving the aircraft due to easier access permitted to the cockpit and personnel quarters of the craft, are welcome features of the Applicant's arrangement.
The Applicant's arrangement has wide applicability for use in sport planes, cargo planes, crop dusting planes, executive planes, and has many other capabilities in the civilain field. Military operations are also immediately apparent. The special configuration of the Applicant's arrangement lends the Applicant's invention to embodiment in amphibious aircraft.
The short wing span on the aircraft of Applicant's invention permits the aircraft to be much lighter in weight than conventional aircraft of a comparable type.
The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not to be limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.