Aircraft

Patent · Wed Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:871850

Hibbs, Bart D ^[1]; Lissaman, Peter B. S. ^[2]; Morgan, Walter R ^[3]; Radkey, Robert L ^[4]

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1. 1732 N. Grand Oaks, Altadena, CA 91001
2. 3276 Rubio Canyon Rd., Altadena, CA 91001
3. 3217 Amarillo Ave., Simi Valley, CA 93063
4. 70 Eddystone Ct., Redwood City, CA 94065

This disclosure provides a solar rechargeable aircraft that is inexpensive to produce, is steerable, and can remain airborne almost indefinitely. The preferred aircraft is a span-loaded flying wing, having no fuselage or rudder. Travelling at relatively slow speeds, and having a two-hundred foot wingspan that mounts photovoltaic cells on most all of the wing's top surface, the aircraft uses only differential thrust of its eight propellers to turn. Each of five sections of the wing has one or more engines and photovoltaic arrays, and produces its own lift independent of the other sections, to avoid loading them. Five two-sided photovoltaic arrays, in all, are mounted on the wing, and receive photovoltaic energy both incident on top of the wing, and which is incident also from below, through a bottom, transparent surface. The aircraft is capable of a top speed of about ninety miles per hour, which enables the aircraft to attain and can continuously maintain altitudes of up to sixty-five thousand feet. Regenerative fuel cells in the wing store excess electricity for use at night, such that the aircraft can sustain its elevation indefinitely. A main spar of the wing doubles as a pressure vessel that houses hydrogen and oxygen gasses for use in the regenerative fuel cell. The aircraft has a wide variety of applications, which include weather monitoring and atmospheric testing, communications, surveillance, and other applications as well.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• Assignee: Hibbs, Bart D. (1732 N. Grand Oaks, Altadena, CA 91001);Lissaman, Peter B. S. (3276 Rubio Canyon Rd., Altadena, CA 91001);Morgan, Walter R. (3217 Amarillo Ave., Simi Valley, CA 93063);Radkey, Robert L. (70 Eddystone Ct., Redwood City, CA 94065)
• Patent Number(s): US 5810284
• OSTI ID: 871850
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/244/455/
airborne
aircraft
altitudes
applications
arrays
atmospheric
attain
avoid
below
bottom
capable
cell
cells
communications
continuously
differential
disclosure
doubles
eight
electricity
elevation
enables
energy
engines
excess
feet
five
flying
foot
fuel
fuel cell
fuel cells
fuselage
gasses
hour
houses
hydrogen
incident
indefinitely
independent
inexpensive
lift
loading
main
maintain
miles
monitoring
mounted
mounts
night
ninety
oxygen
oxygen gas
photovoltaic
photovoltaic array
photovoltaic cell
photovoltaic cells
photovoltaic energy
preferred
pressure
pressure vessel
produce
produces
propellers
provides
receive
rechargeable
regenerative
regenerative fuel
relatively
relatively slow
remain
rudder
sections
sixty-five
slow
solar
span-loaded
spar
speed
speeds
steerable
store
surface
surveillance
sustain
testing
thousand
thrust
top
top surface
transparent
travelling
two-hundred
two-sided
variety
vessel
weather
wide
wide variety
wingspan