GB740696A - Dirigible craft - Google Patents

Abstract

740,696. Aircraft propulsion and control system. CAILLETTE, G. E. July 23, 1952 [July 24, 1951], No. 18674/52. Class 4. [Also in Group XXI] A dirigible craft capable of climbing and descending vertically and remaining immovable in space in a state of stable equilibrium without the use of a sustaining rotor comprises propulsion means developing a resultant thrust applied to the craft and angularly adjustable with respect thereto and control means responsive to direction-sensitive means whereby said resultant thrust is constrained to keep a predetermined direction in space and is controlled in such a manner that its line of action intersects a predetermined axis of the craft's body passing through the centre of gravity thereof, at a point located ahead of said centre of gravity, in the direction of action of said resultant when said axis is not parallel to said predetermined direction. An aircraft has a propulsion unit Co arranged so that the axis of thrust R, when displaced from coincidence with the longitudinal axis Z, always intersects the axis at a point O located ahead of the centre of gravity G in order that the craft may be inherently stable. In order that a predetermined heading may be maintained a pick-up device De (which may be gyroscopic) is set to a direction D and it controls the direction of thrust R by the mechanism shown in Fig. 7. Power is derived from a generator Ge and device De comprises two potentiometers r1 and r2 which may be inserted, by a switch I, in a circuit comprising two relays Rx and Ry and two servo motors Sx and Sy adapted to control the angular position of the propulsion unit Co. The movements of the servomotors are transmitted to the unit Co through a link Pi of variable length which may work as a damper and as a follow-up device. A manual control L may be provided to override the device De to control the propulsion unit. It may be located in the aircraft and may comprise potentiometers r3, r4 connected to the relays Rx and Ry or it may be remote from the aircraft and connected to the relays by a radio link. The member L may be connected directly to the propulsion unit. A further control system (Figs. 15-22, not shown) is described for a plurality of propulsion units in which a mechanism similar to that of Fig. 7 controls a universally mounted plate which inturn operates a plurality of plungers connected to potentiometers controlling the operation of servo motors acting directly on the propulsion units. An arrangement is described also for adjusting the angle of the core of the propulsion gases. Further embodiments describe arrangements for piloted aircraft and guided missiles. The number of propulsion units is usually at least three but a control system and installation for two only is described.