Aeronautics and astronautics – Aircraft propulsion – Launching
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-03
2004-05-04
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Aeronautics and astronautics
Aircraft propulsion
Launching
C244S063000, C104S290000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06729578
ABSTRACT:
FIELD
The present invention pertains to systems for assisting aircraft in becoming airborne or in landing on airfields with a short runway.
BACKGROUND
Heavy fixed wing aircraft, particularly military aircraft designed for use in combat operations, require a large force under the wings to lift the aircraft from the ground so that the aircraft may become airborne. This lifting force is generated by the velocity of the air over the wing. Typically, airplane runways designed for heavy fixed wing aircraft must be quite long. A long runway is needed to enable the aircraft to accelerate under its own power to a velocity which generates sufficient aerodynamic lift on the wings for the aircraft to become airborne. Accordingly, runways designed for use by heavy military and commercial aircraft may be several thousand feet long. In addition, these long runways must be oriented in a direction which takes advantage of prevailing winds; that is, the long runways direct the aircraft into the wind to further increase the flow of air over the wing. Because of geographic constraints, it is difficult, if not impossible, in many areas of the world to build runways of sufficient length that can by used by heavy military or commercial aircraft or that can be oriented into the prevailing winds. For example, mountainous terrain and congested metropolitan areas are not suitable locations for the construction of long runways.
Long runways are also needed for the deceleration of heavily loaded aircraft. In addition, long runways provide a margin of safety for stopping a landing aircraft when the primary means for slowing the forward motion of the aircraft becomes disabled.
For seaborne aircraft operations, the U.S. Navy typically uses a high pressure steam powered catapult to rapidly accelerate an aircraft, specially designed for use on aircraft carriers, to the air speed needed for the weight of the aircraft to be supported by airflow over its wings. When the mission is complete, the aircraft lands on an aircraft carrier by having a hook on the tail of the aircraft engage a heavy steel cable positioned across the deck. While the launching and landing of aircraft on seaborne aircraft carriers has been a routine part of U.S. Navy operations for more than fifty years, pilots continue to talk of the difficulty and danger associated with taking off from or landing on an aircraft carrier.
The use of a high pressure steam catapult to provide the necessary force to rapidly accelerate the aircraft for take-off from an aircraft carrier and a heavy steel cable to rapidly decelerate the aircraft for landing on the aircraft carrier also places all those working on the deck of the aircraft carrier in a hazardous environment. Any malfunction of the high pressure steam catapult or of the heavy steel landing cable unleashes tremendous forces. Such forces can cause severe physical injury or even death. Accordingly, despite the more than fifty years of use of seaborne carrier-based aircraft launching and landing systems, such systems have not found broad utilization on land-based airports, even land-based airports with short runways.
The need to acquire the ability to utilize airports with long runways for heavy fixed wing aircraft became apparent during the recent U.S. military operations conducted in Afghanistan. Rather than building new airports to launch heavy military aircraft, the U.S. was forced to make arrangements with neighboring nations for the take-off and landing of heavy fixed wing aircraft. Had nations close to Afghanistan not cooperated with the U.S., the ability to use heavy fixed wing aircraft may have been severely limited while the costs would have increased significantly. While available land sites for the location of airports may not be as short as the deck of an aircraft carrier, many available land sites are still not long enough to permit flight operations for heavy fixed wing aircraft.
There remains a need in the art for an easy to install and inexpensive system and method to enable heavy fixed wing aircraft to use land-based airports with short runways for flight operations.
SUMMARY
The short runway aircraft launching and landing system of the present invention provides an easy to install and inexpensive system and method which enables heavy fixed wing aircraft to take off and land from land-based airports with short runways.
The disclosed system and method uses Linear Induction Motors (LIM's) installed in short runways to provide the thrust necessary to launch heavy fixed wing aircraft into the air. Airports with short runways can also utilize LIM's or permanent magnets to decelerate the forward motion of the aircraft to facilitate a safe landing.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3220216 (1965-11-01), Byrne et al.
patent: 3604665 (1971-09-01), Jamison
patent: 3820472 (1974-06-01), Schwarzler
patent: 5277125 (1994-01-01), DiFonso et al.
patent: 5653174 (1997-08-01), Halus
patent: 6170402 (2001-01-01), Rude et al.
Wood Jeff S.
Wood John R.
Wood Travis
Jenkens & Gilchrist PC
Jordan Charles T.
Nguyen T.
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