Month in the Patent Office

Abstract

Apparatus, for the lateral control of aeroplanes, comprises spoiler vanes adapted to be projected from the upper surface of the wings by the operation of a manual control device which operates so that a uniform increase in the displacement of the control device through substantially its full range of movement is arranged to effect a continuously decreasing increase in the effective extent of the projection of the spoiler vanes, whereby the rolling moment of the aeroplane is continuously increased during the displacement of the control device. The spoiler vane may be divided into two or more unequal sections in the direction of the wing span and the control device constructed so that in its initial movement it projects the smaller vane at a rapid rate and subsequently raises the larger vane or vanes at a reduced rate. In Fig. 7 (not shown), the spoiler vane is projected by a rotatable bell‐crank lever positioned so that rapid regular movement of the vane is attained during the initial movement of the bell‐crank lever. In an alternative construction Fig. 8 (not shown), a roller on the arm of a bell‐crank lever engages a cam‐shaped surface on the underside of the spoiler vane. As shown in Figs. 9, 10 the initial rapid movement may be effected by a shaped cam It and where the spoiler vane is divided into two unequal portions, the smaller part is projected by a cam k as shown in Fig. 9, whilst the slower movement of the larger vane is effected by a differently‐shaped cam k as shown in Fig. 10. In a modification Figs. 11, 12 the vane b is torsionally twisted, about an edge in the wing by a set of cams p1 . . p4 arranged along a rotatable shaft o and arranged to come into action successively with a decreasing rate of projection of the vane. In a further modified construction, Fig. 13, a vane b is projected from a slit in the wing d by a slider s formed with arms z1, z2 which engage lugs u2, u1 carried by the vane. The width of the vane may be varied along its length so that the area projected during the initial movement of the control member is additionally increased. The spoiler vanes may be held in their normal positions by springs arranged so that the spoiler vanes are automatically projected from their normal position when the pressure on the wing in the locality of the vanes is abnormally low, e.g., under high list conditions.

Citation

(1936), "Month in the Patent Office", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 8 No. 8, pp. 237-238. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb030088