Helicopter Deployable Boom and Air Bladder Rollover Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft float kits prevent total loss after water landings but often fail to prevent aircraft inversion during such events.
Innovation Solution
A deployable apparatus comprising booms, air bladders, weights, and keels that deploy perpendicular to the aircraft's longitudinal axis upon water landing, along with load attenuators and additional flotation devices, to stabilize and prevent rollover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing aircraft float kits are used, then total loss after water landing is prevented, but aircraft inversion during water landing cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the floatation system into multiple independent components: conventional float kits attached to the aircraft body, and additional deployable booms with air bladders that can be independently deployed. This segmentation allows the rollover prevention function to be added without replacing the existing float kits, thereby maintaining their reliability while addressing the inversion problem through separate, dedicated structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extends the floatation system into a new spatial dimension by deploying booms perpendicular to the aircraft's longitudinal axis. These booms with attached air bladders create a three-dimensional stabilization structure that extends laterally from the aircraft body, providing rollover prevention through a different geometric configuration than traditional under-belly floatation devices.
2Stability of the object's composition
If deployable booms with air bladders are added, then aircraft rollover is prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deployable booms are designed to serve multiple functions: they provide structural support for the air bladders, act as deployment mechanisms themselves, and can serve as attachment points for additional equipment. The air bladders simultaneously provide buoyancy and lateral stability. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static floatation configuration to a dynamic deployable structure. The booms and air bladders remain compact during flight and only deploy when needed for water landing stabilization. This dynamic characteristic allows the complex structure to be stored in a minimal configuration, reducing its impact on the aircraft's operational complexity while providing the necessary stabilization function when required.
3Reliability
If additional flotation devices are deployed, then buoyancy is increased, but storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The air bladders are designed to be nested within or attached to the boom structures when not in use. The booms themselves can be collapsed or retracted along the aircraft's longitudinal axis, allowing the flotation devices to occupy minimal storage space during flight while providing full buoyancy capacity when deployed for water landing stabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The flotation devices transition from a compact, space-efficient configuration during flight to an expanded, high-buoyancy configuration during water landing. The booms extend perpendicular to the aircraft body and the air bladders inflate to provide maximum buoyancy only when needed, thereby minimizing the volume occupied during normal operations while ensuring adequate buoyancy provision during emergency water landings.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively prevents aircraft rollover and inversion by providing additional buoyancy and stabilization, ensuring the aircraft remains upright and stable during water landings.
Implementation Method 1
a first air bladder attached to a second end of the first boom, wherein the first air bladder is configured to inflate when an aircraft lands in the water
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention includes an apparatus for preventing aircraft rollover upon a water landing comprising: a deployable first and/or second boom affixed by a first end to the aircraft and capable of deployment substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the aircraft; and a first and/or second air bladder attached to a second end of the first and/or second boom, wherein the first and/or second air bladders are configured to inflate when an aircraft lands in the water, wherein deployment of the first and second boom and air bladder prevents aircraft rollover upon water landing; or a deployable keel affixed by a first end to the aircraft and capable of deployment substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis and opposite a rotor of the aircraft upon a water landing, wherein the keel is sized to prevent aircraft rollover upon deployment; or both.