US1937212A - Method of obtaining supporting power for aircraft - Google Patents

Description

F. WAAP Nov. 28, 1933'.

METHOD OF OBTAINING SUPPORTING POWER FOR AIRCRAFT Filed Dec. 23, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l A Sam A B B B B B B B E Qflw 5 EH B88858 B59538 B53589 HBBBBB -BBBBBB BB EBB Q OO -OBBBBBH WEBER. BB BBnUBKHnuBHBnU h f BBBBBB BBBEBB%UUUUU/U/m-%.

Nov; 28, 1933. F. WAAP 1,937,212'

METHOD OF OBTAINING SUPPORTING POWER FOR AIRCRAFT Filed Dec. 23, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 //7 venfon- Nov. 28, 1933. F, WAAP I 1,937,212

METHOD OF OBTAINING SUPPORTING POWER FOR AIRCRAFT Filed Dec. 23, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 //7ve/7for:

F. WAAP Nov. 28, 1933.

METHOD OF OBTAINING SUPPORTING POWER FOR AIRCRAFT Filed Dec. 23, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet /nrenfon:

Patented Nov. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES METHOD oF OBTAINING. SUPPORTING rowan FOR AIRCRAFT Fritz .Waap, Dresden, Germany Application December 23, 1929, Serial No.

416,146, and in. Germany December 21, 1928 Claims.

The present invention relates to a method of obtaining supporting power for aircraft and. to a flying ship embodying the principle involved in the method.

According to the invention, the methods hithertoin use for increasing the size of airships are not followed, but the air displaced during the motion of the craft is utilized for obtaining supporting power bycausing the form of the ship to 1 compel the entire amount of air displaced to have an effect below the vehicle, the latter being placed in an inclined position relative to the direction of travel by suitable steering means. Owing to the deviation of. the covering surfaces of the craft from the direction of travel a suction efiect is created above the ship, which has a tendency to lift the latter. The driving devices compel forward motion in the direction of travel, independently of the position of the vessel in space, while thes ip, owing to its form as to length, breadth. and height, will utilize the total amount of air displaced as supporting power on its lower surfaces when in an inclined position relative to the direction of travel. The drive of the ship mayserve simultaneously as steering member, andthe inclined position of the ship relative tothe direction or" travel be caused by special steering means such as ruddersor by the drive itself. The direction of drive may be arranged at fixed or adjustable angles relative to the supporting surfaces. 7

The invention relates furthermore to the structural contours of the ship embodying, the in vention, which will be described more fully below.

One form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l isa side view of the front part of the ship; Fig. 2, a

side view of the, rear part of the'ship; Fig. 3, a

top view of Figs. 1 and 2, both views being placed together midships; Fig. 4, a frontview of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5, a central section through theship; Fig. 6,

a rear view of the ship; Figs. 7 and 8 are views,

partly in section, of other structural arrange ments of the ship; Fig. 9 is'a rear view of the car, and Fig. 10, a corresponding side view thereof.

Referring to the drawings, a is the front part,

i. e., the bow, and b the rear part, i. e., the stern of the ship. 0 are upper supporting surfaces and (1 lower supporting surfaces, and at bothsides of the ship are found the narrow side surfaces 2.

The direction of travel of the ship isindicated by fg. As Fig.v 1 shows, the bottom surfaces 0 and d form an angle at of, for example, 4 relative to the direction of travel. At the rear end ,of the ship are two superimposed horizontal rudders h. m are the cars with the motors and, propellers n. The rear end of the ship accommodates further at both sides the starboard and port rudders o. The arrangement may be altered so that the horizontal rudders are disposed midships and the starboard and port rudders at the two rear sides oi-theship. p are the cabin rooms having the windows q. The inside of the ship discloses a large hollow space 1' for the reception of the gas used for floating,-and near-by are the gas containers s. At the lowest point t of'the ship the rooms for provisions, freight, ballast, etc. are provided and the upper and lower rooms connected by aisles. The ship is fitted either with wheels 1), runners, or pontoons y and the like which may alternately and interchangeably come out of the hull according to whether landing on land or Water is intended.

Owing to the shape and construction of the flying ship the entire hull with its downwardly directed surfaces 0 and (1 extending fromthe bow etc the stern 1) acts as supporting and stabilizing surface'while the side surfaces e are comparatively small and ofier little resistance to horizontal air currents. The supporting surfaces may be enlarged without increasingat the same time the sizeof the ship, as indicated in Fig. 8, where the stepped and'projecting bottom surfaces d enlarge the supporting surfaces considerably.

The flying ship according to the invention offers the advantage that it can be of much smaller size While having the same engine power as the known types of aircraft, because it possessesfar greater supporting power and for that .reason does not require so large containers for gas. It can climb to very great heights, and the gas reserve may be smaller than in existing kinds of airships, as gas need not be discharged during descent,-while the ship will at the same time obtain very great speed.

As stated, under normal flying conditions the bow a'is raised relative to the stern b, raising andlowering' being controlled by the horizontal rudders h. The inclined position can, however, be effected also by adjusting the propeller plane 11., i. e., the drive, for which purpose the cars m, are adjustable, as disclosed by Figs. 9 and 10. Or the engine or the propeller only may be adjusted while the car remains fixed. The front cars may be adjusted differently from the rear ones at the stern while, for example, the central cars with their propellers may continue to work in the direction of travel. The cars are suspended from two bearings at the center of gravity. A toothed segment i carried by a lever and secured to the stern of the car is in mesh with a gear is whose shaft leads into the ship and is caused to rotate from the pilots room by means of a rope-drum and rope or by a crank or weak motor under considerable gearing. Therefore, the adjustable propeller plane in connection with the horizontal and vertical rudders 0 permits any kind of maniruvring besides determining the angle of lift, and a suitable fixing device will make it possible to hold the car in the adjusted position.

The ship may be steered up or down without a rudder simply by altering the center of gravity and pumping, for instance, water ballast from the rear to the front and vice versa. To speed. up matters, compressed air may be employed, the use of compressed air affording the advantage of dispensing with unnecessary reserves which hamper the ship, as the compressed air can be produced during a longer flight directly on board by means of a pump.

Until the ship has been brought into proper position relative to the center of gravity by the how of air currents, she is held by the rudders. As the arrows in Fig. 1 indicate, all the displaced air will pass under the ship, andthis impact of air onthe one hand and the concentration of air on the other will urge the ship upwardly so that she obtains a considerable supporting power. In order to bring thesupporting surfaces, before leaving the ground or water, into proper position for instant take-off, the wheels or pontoons are disposed so that the front of the ship is higher than the rear part on landing or descending on the water. This can be carried out to such an extent that the ship even without starting run will climb almost vertically if the propellers have the corresponding direction. The peculiar shape of the ship prevents any turning about the longitudinal axis during a flight so that special stabilizing surfaces can be dispensed with. The upper supporting surfaces 0 serve as gangway for carrying out repairs or as promenade deck for passengers or for storing life-boats and the like. The form of the flying ship permits also to descend on to the water in a glide and to drift or drive a long time by handling the ship like a mammoth floating pontoon. The broad bottom of the ship facilitates anchoring, no auxiliary helpersbeing required beside theregular crew. The cars with their engines are covered by the hull so that damages are impossible and remain ready for action when the ship lands or descends on the water.

In a flying ship constructed according to the method described the supporting power increases with'the speed so that, in order to maintain the height concerned, the oblique position of the ship or her supporting surfaces must be adjustable accordingly.

The superior features mentioned, especially the increased speed, make it possible for the ship to start at any time, under any weather conditions, and to choose the shortest routes. Moreover, the higher altitudes to which the ship can climb enable her to avoid bad weather zones while the shape produced by the means described insures much greater safety in operation and better manteuvring capacity. on account of her form and properties the ship is much better adapted to its element, the air, as she can oiier greater resistance to vertical air currents while oifering fewer points of attack to horizontal currents. Furthermore, a ship according to the invention does not depend on large hangars which are not everywhere available butcan be anchored easily. While the airship floats or travels and the airplane flies, the flying ship combines both methods of locomotion and pos sesses both the speed and supporting power of the airplane and the special properties of the airship which are favorable to long flights.

I claim:-

1. In an airship, a large unitary body having a substantially rectangular shape in cross and longitudinal section, the lower and upper wall of said body being slightly arched upwardly in cross section of the ship, the upper and lower wall of said body gradually descending from the bow of the said body to the stern in longitudinal section of the ship, side walls extending in a nearly vertical sense between said upper and lower walls of the body, said lower wall at the forward end of said body ascending steeply and passing over the bow.

2. In an air ship, a large unitary body having a substantially rectangular shape in cross and longitudinal section, the lower and upper wall of said body being slightly arched upwardly in cross section of the ship, the upper and lower wall of said body gradually descending from the bow of the said body to the stern in longitudinal section of. the ship, side walls extending in a nearly vertical sense between said upper and lower walls of the body, said lower wall at the forward end of said body ascending steeply and passing over the bow, and adjustable propelling means supported by said body and directing the air stream under the lower wall of the said body.

3. In an airship, a large unitary body having a substantially rectangular shape in cross and longitudinal section, the lower and upper wall of said body being slightly arched upwardly in cross section of the ship, the upper and lower wall of said body gradually descending from the bow of the said body to the stern in longitudinal section of the ship, side walls extending in a nearly vertical sense between said upper and lower walls of the body, said lower wall at the forward endof said body ascending steeply and passing over the bow, cars having propellers and side keels, said cars beingsupported outwardly of said side walls and by said keels, rows of cabins with windows built inwardly of said side walls one above another, and cabins with windows in the said part of the lower wall ascending to the how.

4. In an airship, a large unitary body having a substantially rectangular shape in cross and longitudinal section, the lower and upper wall of said body being slightly arched upwardly in cross section of the ship, the upper and lower wall of said body gradually descending from the bow of the said body to the stern in longitudinal section of the ship, side walls extending in a nearly vertical sense between said upper and lower walls of the body, said lower wall at the forward end of said body ascending steeply and passing over the bow, and side rudders supported upon the side walls at both sides of the ship.

5. In an airship, a large unitary body having asubstantially rectangular shape in cross and longitudinal section, the lower and upper wall of said body being slightly arched upwardly in cross section of the ship, the upper and lower wall of said body gradually descending from the bdw of the said body to the stern in longitudinal section of the'ship, side walls extending in a nearly vertical sense between said upper and lower walls of the body, said lower wall at the forward end of said body ascending steeply and passing over the bow, the upper wall of the body at the stern steeply sloping towards the lower wall to form a pier, and elevating rudders mounted on the said pier.

FRITZ WAAP.

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