US2231524A - Oceanplane - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 11, 1941; ,1. v. MARTIN 2,231,524

ocmurmms I FiledApril 10. 1937 13 Sheets-Shaet'l Feb. 11, 1941., J. v. MARTIN OCEANPLANE Filqd April 10, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 2 gqwwa Feb, 11, 1941. I J: v. MARTIN.

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Na K r f 6% 3 RN n R \N W KN an w UNAQ w m J. v. MARTIN bcmnrmmn FiledApril 10, 1937 Feb. 11, 1941.

13 Shuts-Sheet 4 Feb. 11, 1941. .1. v. MARTIN 2,231,524

' OCEANPLANE I Filed Aprillo, 1937 13 Sheets-Shani J. V. MARTIN Feb. 11, 1941.

OCEANPLANE Filed April 10, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet '7 Feb. 11, 1941. J. V. MARTI ocsmrumn I Filed April 10, 1937 13 Sneaks-Sheet a 1941- J. v. MARTIN 2,231, 4

ocmurmnn Filed April 10, 193'! 13 Sheets-$199129 Feb. 11, 1941. J. v. MARTIN 3 OCEANPLANE Filed April 10, 19w 13 SheetS-She et 1o Feb; 11, 1941.

J. V. MARTIN OCEANPLANE Filed April 10, 1937 l3 Sheets-Sheet l1 lI/l/ Feb. 11, 1941. J. v. MAR-rm 2,231,524

OCEANPLANE Filed April 10, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet l2 J. v. MAR'II'IN Feb. 11, 1941.

' OCEANPLANE Filed April 10, 19:57

13 She ets-Sheet 1s Patented Feb. 11, 1941 James V. Martin,

Garden City, N. Y

Application April 10, 1937, Serial No. 136,190

14 Claims.

This invention relates to aeroplanes and more particularly to the class of long range high speed planes adapted to fly over and alight upon the surface of large bodies of water. The primary object of the invention is to combine long range,

j high speed performance with the ability of the craft to ride out a gale of wind and waves on the ocean surface.

An aeroplane whether of the land'type or of the type adapted to alight on the surface of the water has a higher center of gravity than merely surface or sub-surface craft, also an aircraft must, because of aerodynamic requirements, be spread out laterally more than surface craft and be built of lighter material, but the above noted characteristics make it more diflicult for an aeroplane to withstand the buffeting of the waves and it is one of the objects of the present invention to adapt the aeroplane wings, bodies and floatation means to the form of the ocean wave motion with a view to mitigating the pounding and destructive force of the waves or green water of the waves on the ordinarily spreadout portions of the plane and at the same time to preserve the high lifting and low drag character istics disclosed in my Patents Nos. 1,847,094, 1,973,007 and 2,068,300.

Objects in harmony with the primary object are as follows:

To provide means to superload the central wing surface for flight by juxtaposing auxiliary aerofoils and to alter the position of the said aerofoils in flight or while on the water so as to remove the said aerofoils from the region of green water when the oceanplane is floating.

To keep the wing ends out of the region of green water when the central body floats of the by arranging the main frames of the floatation bodies to correspond with the fore and aft spars of the central wings and to locate retractable wing bracing between the same to resist wave impacts.

To provide novel means to load and discharge freight and passengers into and outof'the wing and floatcompartments of an oceanplane.

To provide novel means of obtaining vision for crew and passengers froniwithin transparentblflg- To provide economy of material for strength ing portions of the bodies or wings, so that drafts due to the planes high speed can be prevented from interfering with vision beyond the opaque walls of the plane, and of streamlining some of such bulging portions and retracting others to 5 reduce wind resistance in flight.

To provide retractable ing bracing in flight combined with variable wing area.

To provide a form of motor cowling which improves the cooling of the power plants, affords a better balancing arrangement for the oceanplane and reduces the propeller and propeller shaft housing interferences, as well as providing a simpler form of truss for the motors or propeller parts.

Figs. 17 and 30 are identical, in so-far as the bulging streamlined glass is concerned with Figs. 1 and 2 of my copending application Serial No. 687,540, filed Aug. 30,- 1933; now Patent No. 2,- 081,437 and in so far as that subject-matter is concerned the present application'is a continuation in part of the former patent.

To provide a novel means of strengthening the wings of a plane for severe stresses of air or water and to enable the pilot to retract and house such means without danger of collapse of the wings.

Other objects such as streamlining the retractable wing braces will become apparent as I proceed with the more detailed explanation of the invention as disclosed in the several drawings.

Fig. 1 shows my invention in the form of an oceanplane in side elevation and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same while Fig. 3 shows the oceanplane in front elevation. Fig. 4 shows an enlarged view, partly in section of one of the two boat bodies in the region of the wing and Fig. 5 shows an inzerior view taken looking toward plan view and Fig. 9 shows the low aspect ratio oceanplane in front elevation and in rough water.

Fig. 10 shows still another alternative type of wing with upwardly bent wing ends to avoid the green water of the waves and superloading arrangements in plan view, while Fig. 11 shows the same infront elevation, and Fig. 39 shows in side elevation from a forward angle a view looking outwardly toward cabins.

one of the pilots Fig. 12a and Fig. 12b show in side elevation another alternative wing construction which could be employed on my oceanplane, but in this view which is broken into two parts the overlapping type of alternative wing construction is illustrated in connection with a ,double fuselage high speed plane. Fig. 13 shows in plan view the high speed plane and Fig. 14 shows the same with the overlapping wings extended and the wing braces in dotted lines, this view is in front elevation. Fig. 15 is an interior view showing sleeper accommodations aboard my oceanplane and Fig. 16 is also in internal view looking forward in one of the oceanplane bodies at the pilot's compartment,

Fig. 17 is identical in so far as the pilots cabin and wing superloading disclosure is concerned with my copending application No. 687,540 now Patent No. 2,081,437, in relation to .the pilot's means of vision on the sides and backward. Fig. 18 is a view in section taken looking forward on the line l8l8 of Fig. 12. Fig. 19 is an enlarged front elevation view of my speed plane showing the wing bracing in relation to the port body and the telescopic wing on one side. Fig. 20 is an enlarged view partly insectiontaken transversely on a plane cutting the body of Fig. 19 where the main wing braces are attached and Fig. 21 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the said body showing the slot for travel of the wing brace up into a recess in the lower side of the wing which is indicated partly in section at the top of the figure.

Fig. 22 is a view showing how one of the wing braces is attached to a wing spar and Fig. 23 is a rear elevation, partly in section showing the internal wing support for the said brace and operating means therefon Fig. 24 shows in front elevation how one of the telescopic wings struts unites with a brace of the main wing, while Fig. 25 shows the. upper end of the said main wing brace and Fig. 26 is a view partly in section taken on the line 26-26 looking down along the parts shown in Fig. 24.

Fig. 27 shows a typical wing brace with adjustable streamlining and, this view shows in section how the walls 'are arranged; Fig. 28 is a view of an alternative wing brace with an inflatable means of adjusting the streamlining, while'Fig. 29 illustrates what a sectional end view of such braces looks like when the streamlining is collapsed on one side of the said brace.

Fig; 30 is a view looking down on the transparent bulges which adjoin the cabin shown in'Fig. 17 and insofar as the bulges and pilot's cabin are concerned with this view is identical with a portion of Fig- 2'of my copending application No.

687,540 now Patent No. 2,081,437, heretofore referred to. Fig-31 shows a. typical passenger observation seat in a body or wing of my oceanplane. Fig.- 32 shows,partly in section, a view looking down along one of the side walls of a ty 'iicalv passenger body and my novel device. to allow vision outwardly, up and down and forwardly and rearwardly while avoiding both wind resistance and drafts. Fig. 33 is a view looking at the said wall from the inside. Fig. 34 shows an alternative arrangement for vision through the side wall of my oceanplane body, while Fig. 35 shows the same device as used by a passenger outlined in dotted lines. Fig. 36 shows an enlarged view of the mechanism by which I move my vision panel into place and Fig. 37 views same'from the outside of the body wall, while Fig. 38 is a view, partly in section taken on the line 38-38 of Fig. 36. Fig. 39 was described following Figs. 10 and 11 above.

Fig. 40 is an enlarged view in side elevation showing how I remove the Wragg type flap from proximity to the waves. Fig. 41 is a fragmentary view of the said means looking downward along one of the fuselage walls which is shown in section and Fig. 42 shows operating means to move the said Wragg flap. Fig. 43 is a view-partly in section taken along the lines 43-43 of Fig. 17, showing how the pilot may look backwardly beyond the. side wall of his cabin.

Fig. 44 is a view looking down into a portion of the starboard body of my oceanplane where the Wragg compounding device crosses the body walls which are indicated in section. Fig. 45 is a similar view of the port body and Fig. 46 is a view, partly in section, looking from the rear in elevation of Fig. 45. Fig. 47 is an enlarged view of the mechanism for attaching or detaching sections of the Wragg type wing and Fig. 48 is a view, partly in section, taken along the line 48-48 of Fig. 46.

Fig. 49 is a fragmentary view inside the cowl 90. shown in Fig. 12a as'inclosing a radial motor, the upper wall of the cowl is shown in section in Fig. 49 and Fig. 50 is aview of the said cowl, partly in section, taken on the line 50--50 of Fig. 49.

Fig. 51 shows a typical side view of my traveling belt to move my internally telescoping wings and Fig. 52 is a cross-section view of same taken on the line 52-52 of Fig. 51.

Fig. 53 shows, partly in section, the internal wall connection of the retractable brace I ill with central wing to of Fig. 19.

Like numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views and I shall proceed with a more detailed description of my inventions: l designates the main wing of my oceanplane, which in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is shown as continuous, excepting for small portions of the lower surface and still smaller portions of the upper surface, over the two boatlike bodies 2; smaller wings 3 telescope through the lateral ends of the main wing l and are each equipped with trailing edge ailerons 4. Fore and aft wing spars 5 and 6 respectively are located, one forwardly and one rearwardly of the said smaller wings 3 and wing trussing after the either one or both pilot cabin location 7; aircooled motors 8 are located-within low drag cowlings 9 and attached to the main wing trussing or alternately to the fuselage fire wall 9c of Fig. 12a and these motors drive suitable propellers III. A

partition wall is located on the forward side of the spar 5 and a passageway .l l-, large enough for human occupation, extends through the forward part of the wing and enables a man to pass from one of the boat bodies 2 to another and also affords access to the different engine compartments within the cowlings 9. An auxiliary aeroi'oil I2 known as a Wragg compound is located adjacently to rearward and slightly below the trailing edge of the main wing and held in that position by a torque tube support I3 journalled in bearing housings l3a. in the walls 20 of the bodies 2 and also in bearings in the wing brackets l4 (see Figs. 40 and 41). This Wraggwing I2 is operable from within the bodies after the manner disclosed in my copending Serial No. 687,540 now Patent No. 2,081,347 for the purpose of altering the lift and drag characteristics of the main and auxiliary wing combinations and in addition I provide a slot IS in both the walls of the bodies 2 and in the wing brackets 14 and means to shift the location of the said Wragg and. its journalled supports and their hearings to a position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in Fig. 40, abovethe trailing edge of the main wing and away from the crests of the waves to protect it from contact withgreen water.

A rear stabilizer fixed control It is located on top of the rear of each said boat body at its extreme rear and high up so that it remains clear of the water indicated by the broken line X-X of Fig. 1. A movable rear flap I1 is attached to Hi and verticalrudders l8 are located on the rear ends of both said bodies 2.

Light and vision is afiorded through port holes is in the bodies and wings of my oceanplane and also through special windows 20 and a rounded and bulging type of window 2|. The boat bodies 2 are internally strengthened by decks 22 and bulkhead frames 5a and 6a and by numerous smaller transverse frames 23. The wing skins 24 are of the double sheet metal type shown at 24 of Fig. 6 and Fig. 21 or of the alternate forms disclosed in my former patents and copending serials above referred to 24' indicates fillets between lower wing surfaces and the'hull side walls.

The smaller telescopic wings 3. are guided between rollers 25 on the spars 5 and 6 and also between tracks 26, see Fig. 4, which are provided with belts 21 and these belts have a tough rubber of soft rather than hard rubber consistency in contact with the smaller wing and this soft rubber 28 has a bond to a stronger and less flexible material 29 which in turn is bonded to V metal pieces 30 which serve as actuating means to prevent slipping of the belt when it is driven by rollers after the fashion indicated at 9e of Fig. 11 in my copending Serial No. 674,566. With this arrangement and the smaller wings attached to the belts which compress them tightly between the tracks 26 it will be seen that there will be 'nofriction between the tracks and the wings 3 while the belts themselves can be provided with anti-friction rollers or an essentially slippery track surface, for further belt arrangements see Figs. 6 and 7 and 15 of my copending serial above mentioned. Attention is called to the built-up nature of the wing skins employed, either that indicated at 24 in Fig. 6 of the present disclosure beingunderstood as used on all the wing surfaces or else the various alternative double wing skin stressed skin constructions previously disclosed in my patents above referred to or in my Serial No. 674,566, see

Figs. 16 and 17; also the built up nature of the spars 5 and 6 and of the spars 3| of the smaller wings 3, and of the frames 5a and Go. as well as frames 23 and also of the boat bottom construction 32 all .of which require great lightness combined with strength and short interval reinforcement. The double skin 24 may profitably be employed in conjunction with the structure 32 and in Fig. 4 fuel ballast tanks 33 are located between the outer boat bottom and the lower deck surface of the interior hull so as to provide additional protection against water entering the said hulls and also to afiord a ready method of trimming the craft by means of pipe leads 34 with regulatable valves 35 which lead upwardly through frame 5a to one of the control rooms of the oceanplane. Such control room may readily belocated inv connection with an engine room 41 (see Figs. 7 and 8) located forward of the forward wing spar 5 and containing the motor 48 or to one located forward of the passage II as heretofore indicated.

Stairs 36 and an elevator 31 facilitate the up 3 and down movement of both passengers and goods from one deck to another and also as shown in Fig. 6 from an external lighter or tender 38, which is prevented from injuring the hull by guard strips 39 which run along the lower hull in a horizontal direction so as not to create drag. The type of elevator which I have devised for use on the oceanplane can be used not only to raise and lower passengers and goods from an external platform into the wings and hulls but can convey same while 42a with inclined rubber covered edges 4% and these hatches are located in a thwartship line in the passageway II and directly under the track 39a and the traveling motor hoist 4D. I also provide a means 36 of passing from within the wing through an opening 420 in the upper wing skin. Freight compartments 43 are provided not only between the decks 22 and bulkhead frames 23 of the hulls, but also in the wing spaces 46 not otherwise occupied. Entirely inclosed motors 48 are located within the said engine or control-rooms 41, in this connection see Figs. 7, 8 and 9 which disclose an alternative form of superloaded wing la of sufliciently short span to keep the wing ends out of the green water. It is also contemplated to retract the Wragg compounding flap l2 after the manner shown in Figs. 1, 40, 41 and 42 and now describe.

also in the bracket l4 which is rigid with the rear apart relation to the wing. A suitable antifriction bearing is located in bearing housings l3a, see

spar 6 and holds the Wragg wing l2 in spaced Figs. 41 and 42, and I also provide similar bearlugs for tube l3 in the wing bracket 14. To lower the drag for full flight the pilot, by means disclosed in my copending serial No. 687,540 now Patent No. 2,081,347, Figs. 7, 8 and 9, operates the torque tube 3 so that all the three sections of the Wragg are held in the full line positions shown in Figs. 1 and 40. In this operable position the bearing housings l3a are at the rearmost and lower portion of the slots I5. The outermost Wragg-wings may be used either differentially as ailerons or conjointly with the central Wragg as super-loading areas: The Wragg on the starboard side I designate as l2s, the one on the port side as I21) and the center Wragg as l2c. The outer Wraggs are secured to the torque. tubes Us on the starboard side and 13p on the port side and I3p for example can end at a differential bevel gearing 49 similar to that shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9 of my Serial 'No. 687,540 now Patent No. 2,081,347, but with imnot only for the joint and differential operation of the outermost Wraggs, but also means by which the pilot may operate the central Wragg l2c either in conjunction with the other Wraggs or it may be operated independently by itself.

To accomplish this rather complicated manoeuver I I supply a larger torque tube I 30 as the main support forithe'entire Wragg system of auxiliary 'wings. To this I3c is rigidly attached the. I20

. gears 49, but for illustration I use the port body 2 and with that in'mind I provide slider bearing blocks I3a located in the body slots I5 of both walls ,of both bodies: The large tube I3c extends from its bearing in the port side slider block of the port body 2 and continues across the said port body to the starboard wall thereof where it is again carried by a slider block i3a: Thence the large tube I3c spans the gap between the two fuselages or bodies 2' and enters a slider block I3a in the port side of the starboard body.

In planes like that illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 it is desirable to use the port and starboard Wraggs as ailerons and to use the center Wragg only for landing or climbing also it should be used in conjunction with the said port and star board flaps for alighting and quick get-a-way. To accomplish this I arrange the difierential gears 49 in the center of the port fuselage: These gears intervene between the smaller tubes His and I31) and are shown located between the ball bearings 50 Figs. 45 and 46, the larger tube I3c forming a housing andsupport for bearings 58 and tubes I3 and differential gears 49. Suitable slots 5| are cut in the larger tube to permit the limited movement desired in the smaller tubes as distinct from the larger tube I3c. For greater compactness I have shown the journal 52- for the differential as located between the smaller tubes I 3s and I 3:) and located on an extension of I3p instead of the yoke I showed in my former application above identified. An operating lever 53 is connected with the pilot's cabin by suitable control wires 54 and bracket arms 55 hold the control wire pulley in desired position so that when the pilot desires to move the two smaller Wraggs I2p and I2s in unison in the same direction he moves the lever 53 in a fore and aft direction by wires 54, but when he desires to create a differential action he moves the lever 53 from side to side by wires 56 which lead to pulleys-carried by the slider bearing blocks Na and thence to the pilot's cabin. It should be noted that the brackets 55 are mounted on the slider blocks I3a so that the entire system may be moved forward in the slots I5 to free the Wraggs from encroachment of green water when the oceanplane is riding out a gale of wind and water on the ocean surface. To accomplish this I provide a rack 51 such as that disclosed in my co-pending Serial No. 674,566 now Patent No.

2,081,346 (see Figs. 30 and 34) and I also provide a pinion gear 58 after the form shown in Figs. 29, and 31 of above patent, but in the present case I have the rack secured to the side wall 211. of the port fuselage 2 adjacent the slot I5 and an electric motor 59 to move the slider block attached both to the pinion 58 and the slider block I3a so that the slider block is forced by either the said motor and pinic .1 or by alternative hand crank 60 to travel along the slot I5, by a smaller shaft 6| and two sets of gears Glu and 6Ib I am able to communicate the pinion movement to another such pinion on the slider block l3a on the port side of the starboard body and thus' create a like impulse for the large tube No to move forward and upward in its slider block in in the fuselage 2, port body, and on the port side of the differential 49; this bracket supports a journalled control 63 in the form of a yoke operated by a push and pull rod 64 from the pilots position or in lieu thereof a spring 65 may be employed to keep the said yoke 63 in one position while the member 64 may be a tension wire leading to the pilot's cabin. A slot 66 in the top and another in the bottom of the large tube I3c permits the ends of the yoke 63 to enter into locking engagement with gear type teeth 61 located on the internal tube I3p so .that when thus engaged the pilot can operate all the three Wragg flaps together in the same direction by moving the lever 53, but if he desires to disconnect the large tube l3c from the rotational movement of the smaller tubes he .will move lever 63 and this will pull its ends along the slots 66 till they are clear of the internal tube teeth 61: Then he may operate the two end Wraggs independently of the center Wragg and I provide a simple wire control 68 to enable the pilot to control the center Wragg I20 when the same is disconnected. The slight angles which the Wragg will take relative the inner tubes will not seriously affect the operation of the'disengaging means 63' and it will be understood that only when the slider blocks I3a are at their lowest and most rearward position will it be desired to operate any of the Wraggs about their axes for oceanplane control and then all the control cables will be taut. A flaring guide 69 such as I disclosed in Figs. 26 and 27 of my copending application Serial No. 674,566 now Pat-- ent No. 2,081,346 may be employed to guide the Wragg flaps in their course to a safe-from-thewater position above the rear trailing edge of the main wing of the oceanplanes. In so far as the disclosures of my formerly filed copending application No. 687,540, now Patent No. 2,081,347 relates to the subject matter of the diiferential action of the Wragg type wings for lateral control visional subject matter therefrom.

I shall now describe my invention also disclosed in the aforesaid application relating to outwardly bulging vision means for aircraft, but in the instant case I have improved my former disclosures as seen in Fig. l of the above application which is Fig. 17 of this application and Fig. 2 parts of which are Fig. 30 of this application. Reference is hereby made to my co-pending Serial No. 189,220, filed Feb. 7, 1938, for claims running to my vision bulb invention. At the high speeds becoming prevalent in modem planes the air velocity interferes with vision when a pilot or observer puts his head beyond the external walls of an inclosed body or wing. It is old in the art to provide glass or plastic glass substitutes in line with the side walls of the plane to close openings so that vision can be had therethrough, but I go further and bulge outwardly the plastic transparent substances so that an observer can look outwardly and by putting his eyes beyond the line of the aeroplane drafts and also I go still further and by carefully streamlining the external bulges I save the air turbulence which would result if the openings were not thus streamlined. In the figures above referred to and in Figs. 12, 18, 32 and 33 I show a plastic material bulge 10 which in Figs. 17, 30 and 43 extends backwardly outside of the closed wall 2a of the fuselage or airplane body. In Fig. 43, ll represents the forward end of the rearward wall 2a near the back 12 of the pilot's seat. In Figs. 12 and 18 I show the bulge 10 located both above the observer's position and also on both sides thereof. But, since it may not be necessary on long trips to have the bulges located outwardly of the streamline surfaces of the plane thus creating drag and increasing the gasoline consumption.

I have invented and in Figs. 32 and 33 disclosed an easily removable bulging panel 13 with a handy hand clamp 14 to secure it in place after its opposite end has been located behind convenient corner brackets 15. I also show how a straight panel of glass 16 can be located in the wall below the opening and moved readily into place by an automobile type window raiser H. In Figs. 34 to 38, inclusive, I disclose a still more improved type of vision bulge device for use on passenger liners or military planes: Here is shown a rounded bulge 18 which fits neatly into a hole in the side wall 2a of the plane and enables a person standing as indicated by dotted figure in Fig. 35 to look in several directions. The bulge I8 is mounted on a frame 19 which is carried by a lug rigid therewith and this lug has an expanded part 8| which is guided for movement in a slot 82. This slot has edges 83 which confine the expanded part 8! within the slot path and a flexible cable 84 is operated by a hand crank 85 to retract or extend the said bulge 18 when ever desired: For example when the bulge i8 is not needed a straight glass 16 located within the double wall 20 of the aeroplane body is in place to close the opening in the body side walland the transparent bulge i8 is located out of the way of passengers as shown in Fig. 34, but when a passenger desires to look downwardly at some terrestrial objects he manipulates the crank 85 and this crank operates the usual form of automobile window raiser at the same time it pulls the cable 84 around the guide pulleys to lower the bulge 18 until its holding lug 80 and 3| is drawn into the position shown in Figs. 36 and 38. At this corner to provide for an easy turn in direction I have provided an additional guide roller 91 and an indenture 92 in the lug 8|; also I have certain right angle slots 83 in the lug itself so as to let the cable 86 lead in the best directions to pull the lug in desired directions: After rounding the corner as shown the lug will bring the bulge 18 into the position shown by Fig. 35.

As vision is becoming a most important concern for all types of aircraft I have devised special transparent panels 94, see Figs. 12, 31, 1 6, 8 (see also 2| in Fig. 1), and in the wings of Fig. 9 where the transparent panels are arranged conveniently for vision downwardly through the side walls of the aeroplane body or wing. Note in Fig. 31'the convenient location of passenger observation chairs 95, seen also above 2| in ascending tiers in the rear fuselage portion of Fig. 1 and the location of such a panel for downward vision of the pilot in Fig. 12 as well as the panel 94 for use of the oceanplane captain from I show in Figs. 10 and 11 the wing ends bent upwardly to escape the more severe wave crest portions. In Fig. 11 I have indicated the green water as X and the spray or whitecaps as Z and also in Fig. 9'! have indicated how the wave movement will act about the bodies and wings of my oceanplane without doing damage although the broken crests of the waves and spray go completely over the wings and bodies as will occur in gales and storms.

As still another form of wing which can be employed on my oceanplane to escape the disastrous force of the green water I show in Figs.

12, 13 and 14 an overlapping type of wing which has particular significance both for planes desiring to escape the action of green water on their wing ends and also for very high speed double bodied planes such as disclosed in the high speed pursuit bomber illustrated in Figs. 12, 13 and 14 of the drawings.

In order .to obtain very high speeds it is necessary not only to retract a large portion of the landing wing area, but to keep the wing into which the smaller wings are retracted of as little thickness as possible to reduce its drag influence. In Fig. 12 is shown the profile of a wing lc, which is much thinner than my prior disclosures (see also copending applications above noted) of overlapping telescopic wings and a type of wing which therefore has an extra need for retractable wing bracing.

To meet the new demand for strengthening the wing I have disclosed in Figs. 12, 13 and 14 smaller wings Id and le telescoped respectively one within the port lateral end of the main wing la and the other le and lower small wing through the starboard side of the said main wing lc.

These wings are guided on tracks 26 with belts at to prevent friction between the said tracks and the retractable wings and each said smaller wing is provided with a wing spar 3| in line with one of the tracks 28 so that when the wings are retracted into overlapping relationship like that shown in Figs. 9 and 11 of Serial No. 674,566 and Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of Serial No. 687,540, both copending, and in Figs. 12, 13 and 14 herein they will unite with each other and the internal wing bracing of the larger winglc to strengthen that wing for the full flight stress condition. I also show the front spar 5 and the rear spar B in Fig. 12 and cantilever intermediate spars 5a. and 6a located between the said smaller wing spars 3! and also stub spars 26 to carry the spar stresses to the double wing skin 24: I also show rear wing flaps and ailerons l2p, I20 and Ms corresponding in function to the Wragg flap disclosures surrounding Figs. 7, 8 and 9, also 40, 41 and 42 as well as 1, 2, and 10 and 11. Naturally the feature of retracting these flaps in Figs. 12 and 13 to an elevated position behind the main wing will not apply to the sort of flaps shown in the Wragg type drawings and the Wragg type can be substituted for the type shown in Figs. 12 and 13 and if so substituted would still further lower the drag of the main wing lc.

The particular novelty which attaches to the type of overlapping wings shown in ,Figs. 12, 13 and 14 lies in the novel way I brace them progressively for varying conditions of stress, for example to either alight or get away from the ground the wings Id and le will be fully extended, but

with a heavy load of gasoline and bombs 96, see

Fig. 14, these wings may be too weak with their internal bracing alone so I supply the external bracing shown in dotted lines. After the plane is in the air and not brought up to its high speed,

but kept at a safe flying speed I progressively retract both the outer wings and their bracing and lastly the bracing of the main wing between the two fuselages. The first step in this process is accomplished by the pilot operating the retracting motor and mechanism for the wings as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 674,566.

The outer wings are externally braced by a tension and compression diagonal 91 journaled to tubular support 3la aflixed to the spar 3| (forward spar) by a bracket 3Ib and the lower end of 91 is rigid with another brace 98 also journaled about the tube 3Ia, see Fig. 22. Thesejournaled braces form with the tube 3Ia a triangular brace or truss for the said smaller wing withthe outer end of 91 supporting the smallwing at approximately the center 99 thereof, see Fig. 19, of its extended portion when fully extended. Small ball bearings I permit easy movement of the wing Id along the tube 3la until the end of Id reaches the position indicated at 99 of Fig. 19; then the electric motor IOI is started by contact 'of gear teeth I02 with gears I03 in the top of stantially flat with the lower wing surface after end of the small wings are neatly housed'within sition I09 just beyond the main wing lc center and its corresponding small wing Ie on the starboard side acting similarly will have retracted into a slightly overlapping position with its mate Id. An automatic stopping arrangement such as I have shown in my copending Serial No. 674,566 and in my Patent No. 1,672,985, or an electric cut-out of conventional pattern is contemplated so that-when the wings Id and le reach the stations such as indicated at I09 for Id the wing retracting shall be delayed until the braces 91 and 98 are fully retracted and housed after which the complete retraction may proceed until the the ends of the large wing and 'formwith said ends flush end closures. When the telescopic wings are half retracted either the aeroplane mo ors may be opened up so that higher speed is, attained or the pilot may keep to comparat velv low speeds and retract the external braces 91 and 98 asdescribed. Then he may proceed y ressing anotherele'ctric button to retract and house the brace I I0 which carries the arm I08 and is rigid with braces I I I and H2; this brace is retracted by a small electric motor with proper win contacting "connections and wires as disc osed in mv lighting wires shown in Fig. 11 of my copending Serial No. 674,566 and operates like the brace 98 but without so much complication .as here is no lateral movement about a'tube surface of Icto accomodate the braces IIO, III

and H2. As the brace moves upwardly around its Journal I I3, see Fig. 25, a rod I I4 located within the said brace I I0 and journaled at its top to the end wall of the main wing Ic at H5 is forced downwardly and along the slot H6 relative the lower end of H0 so as to push on arm I06 at journal II1, see Fig. 24, and thus move the said arm about journal II8 into the dotted line position indicated in Fig. 24. The attached braces III and I I2 are understood to be housed as shown in Figs. 28 and 29 when finally retracted, butdiagonal I I2 forms a connection inside the fuselage wall, see Figs. 20 and 21, with another brace H9 and at their union is found a roller I20 for movement in a slot I2I with flanges such as 83 of Fig; 36, so arranged that when in the extremely extended position they form a continuous transverse-to-flight trussing connection through a specially strong fuselage trussing member I23 to a similar bracing truss I24 and I25 with its corresponding brace I26 like II9. In applying my novel wing bracing care must be taken to adapt -it to the conditions; for example, if an oceanplane wing without telescoping wings is employed the only braces needed would be those corresponding to H2, I25 and/or I26 of Fig. 19 and these should be located at or near the frames 51: and 6a (Figs.

5 and 6) which correspond in function with frame I23 of Fig. 20. Such braces will add great strength to the connections between the hulls and the main wing to resist wave action, and, for flight, can be retracted and housed as indicated. Naturally the brace in any one of these trusses which is most conveniently located can be selected for the small electric motor operation, thus brace I I9 can be motivated instead of brace H0 for the truss consisting of H0, III, H2 and H9. Similarly the truss which extends between the two fuselages and'contains braces I26, I25 and I24 can be operated by brace I29 or alike brace in the starboardv rather than the port fuselage. When the wings Id and Ie are completely retracted and their trusses housed as indicated then the two smaller wings uniting with the internal tracks and internal wing trussing already described as associated with Ic will furnish the additional internal wing strength which was given previously to retraction by the three sets or sorts of bracing external trusses. The members I24 and I25 and inside of said cover I21 andto the back of braces like 91; Fig. 29 shows the/streamlining collapsed as it will be when the braces are retracted and housed within the wing slots. streamlining can be attached to a portion of the wing slot so that, when the brace is extended it 'pulls'along the part designated 29, thus raising the wire wishbone shaped braces I28 into the positions shown in Fig. 27 and when these wires,

One end of the which'are attached to I21, are allowed to fall in the direction of the arrow I the entire streamlining will be in a' position as shown inv Fig. 29. As an alternative arrangement to the wire braces I28 Ishow'inFig. 28 ani'nflation valve I3I which from an air bottle through the pipe I32 leading will fill the streamline I21 with compressed air from the pilots cabin after the fashion disclosed in my Patent No. 1,728,621.

The radial air cooled motors 8 are a compact and mechanically efllcient type of motor for air-, craft, but interfere with the attainment of very high speeds as mounted and cooled in present practice, i. e., mounted within a cowling such as illustrated at 9 Figs. 1 and 17; such cowlings have a wide circular opening in front near the propeller and allow the heated air to escape at the end margins in front of the leading edge of the wing. In Figs. 12, 13 and 14, 49 and 50, I disclose a great improvement in cowls for radial cooled motors: Cowl 9a is supported at its rear margins by trussing 9b secured to the forward fuselage longerons just forward of the firewall 9c.

The motor 8 is also detachably secured to the said fuselage just forward of the said firewall and the crank case of the motor is internally and externally ribbed to assist it in taking the loads imposed by having to rigidly support the forward cantilever housing 9e, which incloses and supports the forward propeller shaft bearing 9d, located just aft of the propeller spinner Illa which has air louver exits in its nose.

A framework 9f supports the forward end of cowling 9a and between this frame and an intermediate frame 9g is rotatablymounted an inner sheet metal ring 9h capable of opening or closing the louvers 92' in the cowling 9a. Similar openings in the inner cowl 9h when brought into line with the outer openings 92 will admit air within the motor inclosure to cool the same and to cool the motor 8 after the fashion disclosed in my Patents Nos. 1,854,706 and 1,973,007 and 1,847,093.

This 9h may be rotated through a small arch by manual means (not shown), but in order to relieve the pilot of this regulating of the airflow about the cylinders of his motor 1 supply an auto- I matic regulator in the form of a speed governor 60b of a well known sort which is driven from the propeller shaft Bd'by bevel gears Hid; this governor or regulator Hlb either pulls or releases a flexible cable Me which leads around a pulley III! to an attachment point on the said inner cowl 972.; a

small spring 10g can be arranged between the frame 9g and the said inner cowl 9h to pull against the said cable Ille: Thus by adjusting the regulator 50b the number of revolutions made by the propeller shaft can be made to either open or close the air openings in the cowel 9a.

At I21 in Fig. 12 I have indicated a retractable chassis which can be constructed and operated as indicated by the aforementioned patents and pending applications: Its novelty lies mostly in its disposition on one side of each fuselage body,

see Fig. 14, leaving room in the other side and in the region of the center of gravity so far as fore and aft balance is concerned for bombs 96.

528, Figs. 13 and 14, show remote control machine guns located in spaces which are. not needed for the overlapping wings.

It is contemplated to blend the interior connections of my vision bulges with the'interior walls of the aircraft so as to provide smooth contacts for human beings.

As will be seen by viewing Figs. 1 through 11, inclusive, the action of myoceanplane in rough water will obviate the damage which would be caused by impinging green water represented by X in Figs. 9 and 11 although the whitecaps or foam represented by Z may cover portions or all of the bodies and wings. In a fore and aft direction the hull formation of my double boat bodies 2 will support the craft in the trough of a heavy sea. and by my device of removing the rear auxiliary Wragg wing from the region of the heavy water during the time the plane is riding out a severe gale, no damage vwill arise: However the long overhang of normal aspect ratio (6 to 1) of aeroplane wings overhanging their boat bodies in the trough of a heavy sea would bring the heavy water over the wing ends and crush the same if it were not for my device of either retracting the wings within the lateral ends of the main wing as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 12, 13,

14, 17 and 19 or by means of the low aspect ratio wing type shown in Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 or by the still further alternative shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Thus in operation I have created a design which lacks the faults of current practice where either wing end floats which are too weak to stand heavy seas are used or stubby wings are used as floats near the bottom of a central hull. These are also too weak for the pounding of the sea and they have the additional disadvantage of ruining the airfiow about the plane because of drag and interference. To reduce the drag and interference at the wing-body connections I have reduced the beam (see Figs. 5 and 6) of the hulls where they connect to the underside of the wing; but this weakens these connections so that they could not withstand the wrenching action of the waves without employing my retractable wing-body bracing at frames 6a and 6a. The subject matterdealing with the differential action of the Wragg type rear auxiliary wings when used as lateral controlling devices goes to Fig. 1'7 and its original with description in Serial No. 687,540 and it will be apparent that in the instant case I can use the two outermost Wraggs as ailerons while using the central Wragg as a high lifting device or merely as a means of reducing the drag of the forward wing, which it does when in its full line position.

The loading and discharge of an oceanplane calls for invention to devise special means to facilitate ingress and egress of passengers and freight because the light structure of the large overhanging wings and tail surfacescannot safely be brought into proximity to wharfs such as ships dock at for loading and discharging. The comparatively light and outspreading plane structure rolling about on the water surface, even of a land-locked harbor, calls for entirely different loading facilities than those associated with loading cranes or ships derricks. It will be seen that I not only avoid the weight of the ships loading booms by employing the wing extension, see right hand side of Fig. 6, to substitute'for the usual "outboard boom, but by providing a track with motorized tackle traveling close to the underside of the upper wing skin, I avoid need for the "midship boom which is used by vessels to lower the cargo down the hatches, furthermore the arrangement I show has a number of additional suprise features such as affording a vast expanse of overhead protection for cargo and passengers against rain or hail during the loading operations and, in an oceanplane with two hulls,

such as shown (Figs. 6, 9 and 11) results in a steadying influence to guide the elevator '31 so that it tends to center through the wing hatch-

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