US1536283A - Method and apparatus for facilitating the starting and the landing of aeroplanes - Google Patents

Description

y 1,536,283 L. BREGUET S FOR FACILITATING THE STARTI G- AND May 5, 1925.

F AE ed Aug. 25, 1922 v Y, /M/

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s. n nan LoUIs EEEGUET,

'Patented May'S, 19.25'.

` [UNITED STATES or rAEIs, EEA'NcE, As'sIGNoE To sooIETE ANONYME nEs ATELIERS DAvIATIoN LoUIs BREGUET, or rAnIs, FRANCE.

METHOD AND ArrAEATUs For. FACILITATING .THE STARTING AND THE LANDING E AEnorLANEs.

Application led August 23, 1922. Serial'No. 583,811.

To all whom it may concern-f Be it known that I, Louis BREGUET, a citizen of France, and. a resident of Paris,

' France, have invented new and useful Imaeroplane; it is necessary that it should bear with the least possible weight upon its land- ,ing chassis in order to avoid ruptures when the aeroplane rolls on theI ground over obstacles. Absence of wheels would alsobe a great advantage for an avion, as it could be adapted with facility fog combined land and water use, the same fuselage provided with skids or runners beingy enabled to descend upon land ,and sea.

In order to .obtain this result, the present invention comprises the use of an atmos- 'phere maintained under pressure under each aeroplane wing bymeans of a suitable air `fan or compressor 'which is driven by the main engine or engines, or even by auxiliary engines. This will dispose between the lower planes in the case of a biplane, or under the single plane'in the case of a m'onoplne, an atmosphere under pressure which is substantially Independent of the speed of the avion and may even prevail when the Ilatter is in the stationary position, i. e. when not travelling. In this manner the weight `otf the avion, 'even before reaching any speed,V will be at once" reduced to avery small amount, and 'thesliding of the ISkils or keelof the fuselage on the Iground may become sufficiently easy to be able to disi Thefollowing description, together withc the accompanying drawings which are pense with-- thev use of rwlfieelswith their shock-absorbing devices.

given by way of example, sets forth the present invention.

Fig. 1 is an elevationalview of an avion for land and water .use which is provided with a device according to the invention, and Fig. 2 is a corres ondin front view. Fig. `3 is a modified orm o a detail' of Fig. 1./ n A y The plane of the 'zvionA, Fig. 1,- has coexte'nsive withV the active edge a hinge a serving as a ioint for the movable plane or Hap a c which is'provided at the end with a band of leather or' india-rubber b c intended to sweep over the ground or the surface of the water so as to form a suiciently tight joint.y At the rear part of the plane.l

A ismounted in like manner a flap d e f, ehlnged at d, which can be lowered into con- Vtact with the ground orl the water and may be constituted byma flat member analogous to` the? front flap or lby the end of the main plane itself which is suitably hinged at d,

` Fig. 3; it is .also provided at the-lower edge with a band of leather or india-rubber. The

fiap a: b c is preferably made'of flexible ma 'terial so that when folded up it is enabled to it upon the curved forward end of the plane.

The respective axles a, d, of the aps a b c, d e f, are each provided with various arms a d Z which are connected together in pairs by a rod lc l whereby the two flaps are enabled to move in co-operation, `and said rod serves for the control of the starting and stopping of amaehine M such asan air fan, compressor or the like which is driven by the mainvengine or by a special engine and delivers compressed air Ybetween the planes and the ground through a suitable conduit. A spring R is secured to the plane A and to the flap a c and `tends to hold the latter constantly open, but it is s'o disposed as to yield to the. res'sure o rrthe outer face of said ilap whic .is due to the forward travel of the aeroplane. The said. spring lhas a variable tension which is con,-

trolled bythe pilot.

Each of the lateral ed es of the main plahe is provided with a inge g, Fig. 2,' servin .as a `joint for the flap `g k which is bordered at the lower edge .by a leather or india-rubber band h g and is controlled directly by the pilotby a. cable r1-attached at h and disposedon a sup ortin lley 1' situated within the main p ane A.

When starting the avion, the front, rear and side aps havefthe respective 'positions a b c, d'ef (Fig. 1) and g h g(F1g. 2). The machine M (Fig. l), delivers air under ,pressure into the receptacle formed by the plane A, the ground, the aps a b c, c? e f,J

Ig h g, and this provides a sustaining power which is proportional to the pressure sup-- plied by the com ressor and is under the pilots control.

. and acts upon the rod Z so as to draw the arm d Z in the same sense whereby the flap movement of t d e f also closes up. When the aeroplane reaches normal speed, the llap a: b 0 is applied at a b1 01 against the lower face of the plane A, and the flap d e f occupies a like position d e1 1. By suitable means the e rod k Z is caused to stop the compressed air machine M. The pilot operates the cables r1 to raise the side flaps g h' g to the position g h1 g1, Fig. 2.

Upon landing, the speed diminishes, and the resistance of the air is thus diminished according to the square of the speed. The

spring R, Fig. 1, pushes out the flap a. b c and the latter will automatically operate the starting of the machine M by means of the rod la Z, and hence the flaps 4a b c and d e will be lowered towards the ground. The pilot releases the cable 1'1, Fig. `2, so as to allow the side flaps g h g to assume the vertical position. When all the flaps come close to the ground or the water, the atmosphere under ressure will prevail, and the air delivered y the compressor can only/escape through very small outlets, so that the avlon will light in an easy manner upon a layer of compressed air which forms in fact an air cushion for this purpose. Furthermore when the said flaps become extended, this will afford a considerable resistance'to forward travel and the aeroplane is' thus strongly braked upon the air. v

The said arrangement for opening` and closing the flaps is given solely'by way'of example, and it is obvious that the invention may be carried into eect by like de vices serving to maintain an atmosphere under pressure between the planes of the avion and the ground.-

That I claim is: I

1. A device forthe starting'and landing of aeroplanes when in the immediate vicinity to a landing surface, comprising a receptacle below the Wings of the aeroplane formed of a plurality of unfolding surfaces extending in close proximity to the landing surface, said receptacle being open onthe side adjacent said landing surface. and means for producing an atmosphere" under pressure' within said receptacle.

2. A. device for the starting and landing of aeroplanes comprising a plurality of hinged walls secured to the lower surface of the wings of said aeroplane, means for moving said walls to such position that the means for controlling said flaps, two flaps i hinged to the front plane, air compressor under the control of said rod`and adapted to deliver'compressed air and rear edges ofthe f between the said flaps. and a" spring adapted to pivot the front longitudinal flap when the Yspeed of. the avion' becomes reduced.

4. A device'for the starting and landing of aeroplanes when in immediate vicinity to the landing surface, comprising two fiaps hinged to the lateral edges of the plane, means for controlling said aps, two flaps hinged to the front and rear edgesof the plane, a rod conne ting these two flaps, an air compressor undgr the control of said rod and adapted to pivot the rear longitudinal flap when the speed of the avion becomes reduced, and bands of flexible material dis,- posed along the lower edge of said llaps and insuring` the tight working between the pneumatic receptacle formed by the said flaps and the surface upon which the avion effects the landing. 1

A5. The method of lightening the weight on`the landingA chassis of an aeroplane at the time of starting or landing which cona.rod connect-ing these two flaps, an,

sists in forming a receptacle between the landing surface and the lower side of the wings of the gaeroplane, utilizing the land-v ing surface for the lower wall of said receptacle, and producing an atmosphere under pressure in 'said'receptacle f In testimony whereof I have signed this specification. LOUIS BREGUET.

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