Collapsible propeller for man-powered glider aircraft

Abstract

Abstract The aircraft wings have means for varying their camber and include a fan-like tail section hinged to the rear of a rigid frame surrounding the pilot''s space between the inner ends of the side wing sections, in substantially the same plane therewith, a unicycle being fixed to said rigid frame to provide a seat for the pilot. A collapsible propeller is mounted on a shaft extending forwardly from a bearing on the front of said rigid frame, and is driven by a chain or belt drive from a sprocket or pulley on the wheel of the unicycle, the blades of the propeller being keyed to the propeller shaft through limited annular slot and key connections between adjacent blade bearings, to spread the blades to their proper angular spacing whenever the shaft is driven, and to return them to a common vertical hanging position so as to reduce their drag during gliding operations whenever no power is applied. The pilot sits on the unicycle seat, drops a yoke harness over his shoulders which is operatively connected to control the inclination and twist of the hinged tail section, whereby the shifting of his body forward, lifts the tail section to cause an increase in the angle of attack of the side wing sections, and by shifting his body rearward the tail section is lowered to decrease the angle of attack, and if he moves his body from side to side he can twist the tail section accordingly. After placing this yoke over his shoulders, the pilot inserts his arms through openings in the inner ends of said wing sections and grasps the handles of the correspnding hand control plates which are operatively connected to control the chambers of the side wing sections, the warping of the outer ends of these sections and the spread of the fan-like tail section.

Inventors

• 👤 A Prather

Bibliographic Details