Aircraft battery assembly

Claim 1

An aircraft battery comprising: a battery box including a box-like housing with an open top and a cover that fits on the top to close the top; an aircraft battery having dimensions to be closely accommodated within the housing; a battery heater including an elongate, flat, generally retangular jacket approximately 0.075" thick wrapped around the battery, having a width less than the height of the battery and a length approximately equal to the circumference of the battery, said jacket having first and second vertical edges having vertically aligned eyelets, lace means interconnecting the eyelets on the first and second edges of the jacket to secure the jacket to the battery; said jacket comprised of inner and outer layers of silicon rubber impregnated glass fiber fabric and a flexible heating element of nichrome wire grid imbedded in a layer of silicon rubber disposed between the inner and outer layers of flexible material, said nichrome wire grid providing a watt density of 0.5 W. per square inch of jacket area; a heating jacket power lead extending from the heating jacket outward of the battery box for extension to a remote power source; and thermostat means connected to the heating jacket operative to turn power on and off to the jacket responsive to the ambient temperature, said thermostat means including a thermostat lead connected to the jacket power lead and a thermostat connected to the thermostat lead, and means securing the thermostat to a side wall of an aircraft.