GB2129382A - Aircraft refuelling - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for refuelling a V.T.O.L. aircraft from a ship 10 or other vehicle comprises a tethered airborne lifting device such as an autogiro 13 which carries a refuelling dispenser 15, 16 for engagement by the aircraft 18 and also lifts a flexible pipeline 12. A pump on the ship pumps fuel through the flexible pipeline to the dispenser. The pipeline conveniently comprises the tether for the lifting device and may be paid out from and hauled into a winch in a container on the ship. The lifting device may be a balloon, a parachute, an aerofoil, or an electrically powered helicopter, instead of an autogiro. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Aircraft refuelling This invention relates to the refuelling of V.T.O.L. aircraft, particularly V.T.O.L. aircraft operating over the sea.

On long flights over the sea, it is known to refuel V.T.O.L. aircraft making use of tanker aircraft but this necessitates extensive and careful pre-planning of the operation and positioning of the tanker aircraft at the appropriate location at the right time. Failure of any one tanker aircraft to be in the appropriate position and to effect refuelling might lead to the loss of all the aircraft expecting to be refuelled. It may therefore be required to provide very extensive duplication of provision for refuelling. The effectiveness of operation can therefore be considerably reduced because of the logistic problems and effort required in refuelling.

Present-day types of \/.T.O.L. aircraft can refuel from ships at sea only by making use of aircraft carriers on which they can land. Operation of such aircraft from a carrier at sea in locations remote from land bases necessitates always that the aircraft should be able to return to the carrier for refuelling as it would not normally be practicable to provide tanker aircraft for refuelling during such operations from a carrier.

It is an object of the present invention to provide equipment which can readily be installed on almost any ship or other vehicle and which will enable V.T.O.L. aircraft to be refuelled without having to land.

According to the present invention, means for refuelling a V.T.O.L. aircraft from a ship or other vessel comprises a tethered airborne lifting device carrying a refuelling dispenser for engagement by an aircraft for refuelling, a flexible pipeline between the airborne device and a pump, the pump being arranged for pumping fuel from the ship or other vehicle through the flexible pipe to said dispenser, and means on the ship or other vehicle for paying out the pipeline when the airborne device is to be operative.

The airborne device would normally be a pilotless vehicle and may conveniently be an autogyro having a rotor which gives the necessary lift as the device is towed, for example, by a ship in a flying position above the ship. The ship would preferably be steered into the wind and the combined wind speed on an autogyro rotor assembly can give sufficient lift to lift the pipeline and dispenser.

Other types of lifting device however may be employed. For example the device might have an aerofoil to give lift like a kite or it might make use of a balloon or it might be an ascending parachute, that is to say a parachute type of device which will lift itself up as it is towed through the air by said ship. Since the airborne device is a tethered device, electrical power can readily be fed to it, e.g. to operate powered lifting rotor blades. The airborne device might make use of a combination of lifting arrangements.

The airborne lifting device may be made to veer to one side of the ship, for example by offsetting the load, shaping or trimming an aerofoil or foils or by any of other known techniques for controlling aircraft. It will generally be preferable to gperate the device to one side of the ship to avoid any obstruction to the aircraft being refuelled. Two devices may be operated, one on each side of the ship and, in larger ships, a number of such devices may be operated. In the latter case, the devices may be operated at different heights to ensure adequate clearance between separate aircraft.

Preferably the refuelling dispenser incorporates a flexible pipe leading to an outlet device for engagement by a fuel acceptor probe on the aircraft. The flexible pipeline leading up frorn the pump on the ship to the airborne lifting device and the second flexible pipe leading to the dispenser outlet will substantially isolate the dispenser outlet from vertical movement of the ship due to sea conditions. The lifting device can be positioned at a sufficient height above the sea to avoid "ground effect" problems in controlling the aircraft.

If the lifting device has sufficient lifting capacity, it can carry a fuel reservoir to facilitate rapid refuelling of the aircraft, the pump means pumping the fuel into the reservoir for dispensing to the aircraft.

Conveniently, the pipeline between the airborne device and the ship is dispensed from and wound in onto a drum on the ship. The pipeline itself may constitute tethering means for the airborne device or a separate tethering connection can be provided. The connection may also include control cables for effecting any necessary flying controls of the airborne device.

The whole equipment may conveniently be installed in a container adapted for mounting on a deck or in any other convenient position on a ship.

The container preferably would be a selfcontained device which could be placed on any sea going vessel as necessary.

In the following description, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates diagrammatically a ship carrying a number of airborne devices for refuelling V.T.O.L. aircraft; and Figure 2 is a plan view of the ship of Figure 1.

In the drawings, a ship 10 is shown carrying six self-contained units 11 which are bolted onto the deck or elsewhere in the ship. Each unit 11 contains pump means for pumping fuel from a tank in the unit through a pipeline 12 which is supported by an airborne lifting device 13. This lifting device 13 has a yoke 14 which supports the upper end of the pipeline 1 2 and carries also a refuelling dispenser including a further shorter flexible pipeline 1 5 and dispenser outlet 16 for receiving a fuel acceptor probe 1 7 on an aircraft 1 8. In Figure 1, which is a side elevation, only three airborne lifting devices and pipelines are shown. As seen in Figure 2, in this ship, there are three such devices disposed along each side of the ship with the lifting devices veered to lie to one side of the ship.As seen in Figure 1, the various devices would normally be operated at different heights.

Each lifting device may comprise an autogyrotype device with a lifting rotor which is driven by the motion of the device through the air. Such an arrangement of the ship would head into the wind so as to maximise the effective wind speed of the lifting device. Similar considerations apply if the lifting device makes use of an aerofoil (e.g. as in a kite) or an ascending parachute-type device. Other types of lifting devices which might be employed include balloons, e.g. a helium balloon, or a powered rotor as in a helicopter. The lifting device may thus in effect be an unmanned aircraft which is tethered by means of the pipeline 12 and/or by a further tethering line. The tether may include a control cable for controlling the lifting device and may include an electrical power cable if the device is a powered vehicle.

Each container unit 11 includes a winch drum for paying out or drawing in the pipeline 12 and/or tether cable and enabling the height at which the device flies to be controlled.

The lifting devices may be arranged to veer to one side of the ship as shown in Figure 2 by unbalancing the load, shaping aerofoil surface or using any of the well-known techniques for controlling the altitude and position of a tethered flying device.

Provided sufficient lift is available in the airborne lifting device, it preferably incorporates a fuel reservoir into which fuel is pumped through the pipeline 12 and which in turn feeds the dispenser.

Although the device has been described more specifically in conjunction with a ship, the container 11 might equally well be installed on a land vehicle. The vehicle, for example, could travel along a length of road or the like, to enable a V.T.O.L. aircraft to refuel whilst still moving forward at the same speed as the land vehicle.

Such a technique could permit forward refuelling of the aircraft under battlefield conditions and could significantly increase the useful payload on the aircraft.

Claims (14)

1. Means for refuelling a V.T.O.L. aircraft from a ship or other vehicle comprising a tethered airborne lifting device carrying a refuelling dispenser for engagement by an aircraft for refuelling, a flexible pipeline between the airborne device and a pump, the pump being arranged for pumping fuel from the ship or other vehicle through the flexible pipe to said dispenser, and means on the ship or other vehicle for paying out the pipeline when the airborne device is to be operative.

2. Refuelling means as claimed in claim 1 wherein said airborne device is a pilotless vehicle.

3. Refuelling means as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said airborne device is an autogyro having a rotor giving the necessary lift as the device is towed by the vehicle in a flying position above the vehicle.

4. Refuelling means as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said airborne device is an ascending parachute.

5. Refuelling means as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said airborne device has an aerofoil to give lift.

6. Refuelling means as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said airborne device makes use of a balloon to give lift.

7. Refuelling means as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein electrical power is fed to the airborne device to operate powered lifting rotor blades.

8. Refuelling means as claimed in any of the preceding claims and installed on a ship wherein the airborne lifting device is arranged to veer to one side of the ship.

9. Refuelling means as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the refuelling dispenser incorporates a flexible pipe leading to an outlet device for engagement by a fuel acceptor probe on the aircraft.

10. Refuelling means as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the airborne lifting device has a fuel reservoir, said pump means being arranged for pumping fuel into the reservoir for dispensing to the aircraft.

11. Refuelling means as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein said means on the vehicle for paying out the pipeline comprises a drum from which the pipeline is dispensed and onto which it is wound.

12. Refuelling means as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the pipeline constitutes tethering means for the airborne device.

1 3. Refuelling means as claimed in any of claims 1 to 11 wherein a separate tethering connection is provided between the ship and the airborne device in addition to said pipeline.

14. Refuelling means as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the tethering connection includes control cables for effecting flying control of the airborne device.

1 5. Refuelling means as claimed in any of the preceding claims installed in a container adapted for mounting on a ship or other vehicle.

1 6. Refuelling means for a V.T.O.L. aircraft substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.