RU2608824C1 - Helicopter external suspension - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: aircraft engineering.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to aircraft engineering, particularly, to external suspensions of helicopters. Helicopter external suspension comprises a bearing cable, slings with assemblies of the suspension attachment to the fuselage, an upper electromechanical lock for emergency suspension disengagement from the helicopter, a swivel current collector, all fixed on the bearing cable, a lower electromechanical lock for the load tactical drop and an electric cable. Besides, the suspension comprises a planetary device in the form of a beam with mounted on it a wing, fins with a variable angle of attack of the stabilizer, a landing gear, a lower electromechanical lock for the load attachment, stops fixing the load, as well as a shackle connected with the bearing cable. Shackle is located above the center of mass of the airframe and the load on the same vertical axis with it in front of the airframe focus. Stops fixing the load are made relocatable on the beam depending on the load dimensions and the position of the load center of mass. On the bearing cable of the helicopter external suspension there is a weight meter fixed for determining weight of the load fixed on the cable outer suspension.

EFFECT: provided is higher reliability, increased speed and range of the load delivery.

3 cl, 3 dwg

Description

The invention relates to aviation, to methods and devices for transporting bulky goods, mainly pipes and other long items, on an external sling under the fuselage of a helicopter.

It is known that bulky goods that cannot be placed in the helicopter cabin are transported suspended on a rope outside the helicopter fuselage.

So on a Mi-8 helicopter, a cable suspension is used to transport bulky goods under the fuselage (VA Danilov. Mi-8 helicopters. Device and maintenance. Transport Publishing House, Moscow, 1988). The suspension kit includes four power slings, a DG-64M lock, attachment points for power slings, a hatch guard in the floor of the helicopter cargo compartment, a cable for pulling cargo slings, an extension cord, a swivel hook, and a cargo sling bracket. The main power elements of the outer cable suspension are four power slings, the upper and lower ends of which are attached with their nodes to the fuselage of the helicopter and to the castle, respectively. The lock is designed for suspension and uncoupling of cargo on the ground, as well as for dropping it in flight. To determine the mass of the cargo, mounted on a cable external suspension, it is equipped with a weight measuring device (VIU).

Known external suspension according to patent No. 47660, MKPO 12-05, publ. 08/16/2000, on an industrial design. The suspension is characterized by the presence of a power cable, power slings for attaching the suspension to the fuselage of the helicopter and the upper electromechanical lock, cargo slings for securing the cargo to the suspension and the lower electromechanical lock with a protective cover, a weight meter that provides information about the weight of the cargo to the operator and the pilot, barriers and the electric harness for controlling electromechanical locks.

For the prototype adopted external cargo suspension (patent No.2002677, IPC B64D 9/00, B64D 17/22, publ. BI No. 41-42, 1993), containing a power cable, slings with attachment points of the suspension to the fuselage, electromechanical locks - the upper one emergency release of the suspension from the helicopter and the bottom for discreet discharge of cargo, as well as an electric cable and swivel slip ring.

Such an external cargo suspension is characterized by low efficiency:

- with a rough “landing” of a power cable with a lower lock without a load on a concrete site, the castle often fails;

- unstable behavior of the load in the high-speed air flow due to the absence of the suspension near the load securing stabilizing surfaces that would establish and stabilize the load in the position of minimum aerodynamic drag;

- the inability to increase the power of the helicopter used to increase flight speed by adding the lifting force of the wing mounted on the cargo.

The technical result to which the claimed invention is directed is to increase the efficiency of the external suspension: increase reliability, increase the speed and range of cargo delivery.

The technical result is achieved by the fact that in a helicopter external suspension containing a power rope, slings with attachment points of the suspension to the fuselage, an upper electromechanical lock for emergency release of the suspension from the helicopter, a swivel current collector mounted on the power rope, a lower electromechanical lock for tactical discharge of cargo and electric cable, new is that it contains a glider device in the form of a beam with a wing installed on it, plumage with a variable angle of attack of the stabilizer, chassis, lower electrode a mechanical lock for picking up the cargo, stops securing the cargo, and also an earring connected to the power cable and located above the center of mass of the airframe and cargo on the same vertical axis with it in front of the focus of the glider device.

The stops fixing the load are made re-mounted on the beam depending on the size of the load and the position of the center of mass of the load.

A weight meter is mounted on the power cable of the helicopter external suspension to determine the mass of the cargo mounted on the outer cable suspension.

The invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 - 3, where:

FIG. 1 - external suspension with a glider device loaded with a packet of pipes in flight.

FIG. 2 - glider device on the "ground" before departure or after landing (side view).

FIG. 3 - glider device (front view).

Here:

1 - glider device with a load;

2 - beam;

3 - wing;

4 - keel;

5 - stabilizer;

6 - front support;

7 - a back support;

8 - cargo (pipes);

9 - earring on the wing;

10 - swivel current collector;

11 - power cable external suspension;

12 - a helicopter;

13 - hinge;

14 - stabilizer mechanism;

15 - limb of the angle of attack of the stabilizer;

16 - supports (bars);

17 - node suspension of cargo;

18 - stops from longitudinal movements;

19 - stops from lateral movements;

20 - lock glider device;

21 - sea bolts;

X - aerodynamic drag of a glider; U is the lifting force of the wing 4; F - focus glider without load; SAH - the average aerodynamic chord of the wing; α is the angle of attack of the wing; α _article - angle of attack of the stabilizer; G is the weight of the glider device with the load.

Glider device (hereinafter referred to as “glider”) consists of a beam 2, on which are installed: wing 3, keel 4 and stabilizer 5, both without rudders, two front 6 and two rear 7 strip supports. On the power central rib of wing 3, on one vertical axis with the center of mass of the loaded glider, for example, by pipes 8, an earring 9 is installed, which is connected to the swivel-current collector 10 of the power cable 11, connected to the helicopter 12 by means of attachment points to the fuselage located inside the helicopter. To prevent longitudinal and transverse movements in the flight of pipes 8, a lock 20 and locking stops 18 and 19 are installed on the beam 2, the installation of which is adjusted to the size of the transported pipes. The stabilizer 5 is mounted on the end fin of the keel using the hinge 13 and the mechanism 14 can change the angle of attack α _st , which is fixed on the limb 15. The angle of attack of the stabilizer is changed during the operations of hitch-uncoupling of cargo and is dictated by the need to ensure balancing of the glider when flying without cargo or with less load, i.e. when flying with different values of the wing. The design of the stops 18 and 19 is designed for long-term transportation of certain well-packed pipes or other packaged long loads and can have various designs. Places where the cargo is hooked or uncoupled are equipped with supports, for example, bars 16.

Before take-off of the helicopter 12, a power cable 11 should be laid out on the launch pad, connected at one end by means of a swivel current collector 10 and an earring 9 with a glider wing 3, which should stand on its supports 6 and 7 on the left side of the helicopter in front of the helicopter’s cockpit (the other the end of the rope 11 must be connected to the upper lock located inside the helicopter). Taking off, the helicopter gradually raises the rope 11, and then the glider, avoiding the glider using the skid on the ground (small movements are allowed). To pick up pipes 8, which must be previously packed and laid on supports 16, the helicopter hangs above them and smoothly lowers the beam 2 onto the pipes 8. The assembly of the node 17 to the lock 20 on the beam is connected correctly using the stops 18 on which they slide the ends of the pipes, as well as the stops 19, which, turning under the action of the pipes around the hinge, stabilize the pipes in the transverse direction. To exclude vertical movements of the ends of the pipes, "ground" personnel insert sea bolts 21. After completing the pipe hooking, the helicopter vertically gains the height necessary for subsequent acceleration to horizontal speed with a glider towed by it.

Pipes are unhooked at their delivery to the place of laying with the preliminary extinguishing by the helicopter of horizontal speed in braking mode. Then he hangs over the place with bars 16 and smoothly lowers the beam with pipes on them. The ground personnel by the mechanism 14 along the limb 18 quickly sets the angle of attack of the stabilizer, at which the glider is balanced without load (with a lower value of the wing), at the same time disconnects the lock 20 from the cargo node 17 and gives the pilot a signal to take off the helicopter.

Helicopter landing with unloaded suspension is carried out after landing the glider on the chassis and the subsequent laying of the power cable from the port side in front of the helicopter.

Maintaining the horizontal position of the airframe when raising or lowering it by helicopter is guaranteed by the position of the suspension point (earrings 9) and the center of mass of the airframe with or without cargo on the same vertical axis. This is ensured by the installation of the stops 18 and 19, as well as the corresponding placement of the sub-assembly 17 on the pipe packaging.

The stability of the glider in flight is provided in the same ways as aircraft. For example, in FIG. 1 and 2 show the provision of static stability by the distance ΔX of the center of mass of the airframe with or without cargo from focus F of the airframe. With a ΔX value of 10% ... 20% of the size of the wing MARX, longitudinal stability of the airframe is ensured. Similarly, the issues of lateral and directional stability are solved.

The hooked load to the glider’s lock is oriented and stabilized by stops in the position of minimum aerodynamic drag, and the wing lifting force arising in flight reduces the helicopter’s power to keep the load at height, while increasing power aimed at increasing flight speed.

The Operation and Maintenance Manual stipulates the angle of stabilizer installation by mechanism 14, which can be manually controlled or electromechanical. In the latter case, the installation of the stabilizer can be controlled by the helicopter crew, which greatly simplifies the piloting of the cargo.

The invention is mainly intended for the transport of pipes for various kinds of pipelines under construction.

In connection with the construction of pipeline transport (gas pipelines, oil pipelines, water pipelines) increasing every year, serious tasks arose in reducing costs, especially fuel consumption, in transporting large-sized pipes over long distances, as well as in significantly reducing the time for their delivery directly to pipe laying places. The application of the present invention is advisable where it is necessary to transport pipes by helicopter over long distances, which will significantly reduce kilometer fuel consumption, as well as increase the speed of delivery of pipes to their places of laying. This effect extends to the transportation of other long loads, such as logs, poles, piles, etc.

Claims (3)

1. Helicopter external suspension containing a power rope, slings with attachment points of the suspension to the fuselage, an upper electromechanical lock for emergency release of the suspension from a helicopter and a swivel-current collector mounted on a power rope, a lower electromechanical lock for tactful discharge of cargo and an electric cable, characterized in that it contains a glider device in the form of a beam with a wing installed on it, plumage with a variable angle of attack of the stabilizer, landing gear, lower electromechanical lock for picking up cargo, with frames, fixing the load, as well as an earring connected to the power cable and located above the center of mass of the glider and the load on the same vertical axis with it in front of the focus of the glider device. 2. Helicopter external suspension according to claim 1, characterized in that the supports fixing the load are re-mounted on the beam depending on the size of the load and the position of the center of mass. 3. Helicopter external suspension according to claim 1, characterized in that a weight meter is mounted on the power cable to determine the weight of the hooked load.

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