Variable incidence helicopter stabilator and fail safe actuator

Details Variable incidence helicopter stabilator and fail safe actuator Variable incidence helicopter stabilator and fail safe actuator

1977-03-08

1978-08-01

Kunin, Stephen G.

Aeronautics and astronautics

Aircraft, heavier-than-air

Helicopter or auto-rotating wing sustained, i.e., gyroplanes

244182, 244194, B64C 1144

Patent

active

041038487

ABSTRACT:
A helicopter stabilator, combining the functions of tail stabilizer and aircraft elevator, has its angle of incidence with respect to the helicopter controlled by means of a pair of reversible actuators acting in series, controlled in a closed-loop fashion by electronic hardware, the controls being disconnected when the actuators fail to track within a threshold disparity of either position or rate of change of position of each other. A test switch introduces an imbalance to test the fault circuitry. The stabilator is biased to assume a maximum incidence position at low speeds, including hover; and inputs from airspeed and collective pitch position cause it to assume a substantially level position at higher, cruise speeds. A pitch rate gyro input controls the stabilator for stable flight against pitch-inducing flight commands and external effects, such as gusts. In one embodiment a canted tail rotor which provides tail lift; to overcome tail-up and tail-down effects of the downward component of the tail rotor due to more or less thrust and real or apparent lateral accelerations, a lateral accelerometer is used. To avoid main rotor downwash against the stabilator at hover, the lateral accelerometer and collective pitch inputs are washed-out at low speeds. The bias allows final adjustment for high speed flight.

REFERENCES:
patent: 2225002 (1940-12-01), Focke
patent: 3143693 (1964-08-01), Fearnside et al.
patent: 3145330 (1964-08-01), Hecht
patent: 3309588 (1967-03-01), Martin et al.
patent: 3721404 (1973-03-01), Albert
patent: 3813990 (1974-06-01), Coppola et al.
patent: 3920966 (1975-11-01), Knemeyer et al.

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