Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
.1; L 7 2 4. ~ 9
REIV~)VABLE_EXTE~\IAL P,l\YLOAD
CARRIER FOR AIRCRAFT
BACKG~)UND OF THE II`IVENTI N
~` 5 The present Inventlon relates to payload or stores
carrters for attachment to a vehicle. The carrler of thls In-
vention Is partlcularly suited for usage with an alrcraft as
a carrler of one or more air-launched mlsslles, although
` It may be used with other ml11tary payloads Includlng, but
not llmlted to, alr-launched or alr~eJested mtsslles to be
used In alr-to-air or air-to-surface combat operatlons,
prepackagsd mlsslles in cannlsters for deployment over land
or sea arsas, deployable or dlsperslble electronlc counter-
measures equ!pment, sensor packages, miniaturlzed pllotless
alrcraft, rescue gear, replenlshment supplles, and other
loglstlcs support equlpment. It wlll be understood, there-
fore, that an aTr-launched mlsslle (ALM) Is dlsclosed her~ln
as a partlcular payload t~em for Illustratlve purposes and
tha-t thls Inventlon may be used with all other p~yloads and
carrler vehlcles not explTcltly mentioned hereln.
The advent of ALM7s has fostered the need for avall~
able aircraft capable of dellverlng one or ~ore ALMIs.
Mllltary atrcraft, of course, offer a nucleus of available
ALM carrler vehlcles; however, It would be deslrable ta
Increase the number of avallable ALM carrler alrcraft beyond
~; mtlltary aircraft. To thls end, non-mllltary or co~merclal
alrcraft have been consldered as posslble ALM carrlers~
provlded that these alrcraft could be temporarlly transformed
Into conflguratlons suttable for mTlltary mlsslons. (This
temporary transfOrmatlon Is referred to h~relnafter as
reverslble oonverston. ) Accordtng to th7s reverslble
converslon concept, an alrcraft designed and opera-~ed for
commerclal alr transportatlon (passenger, frelght, or combina-
tlon) could be used as an ALM carrler wlthout Irreversible
modlflcatlon of Its structure, avlonlcs, or other essentlal
elements. Llkewlse, a mllltary alrcraft orlglnally not
deslgne~ as an ALM carrler (e.g. patrol, survel!lance,
transport or tanker alrcraft) could be used for this purpose,
agaln without requlrlng Irreverslble modlfTcattons o~ Its
structure, avionlcs, or other essenttal elements. Accordlng to
" i
~.
further aspects of this concept~ the alrcraft, followlng
the i-emporary military use, can be essentlally recovered
In Its origlnal conflguratlon without slgnlfTcant refurblshlng~
except for the posslble damage suffered tn the course of milltary
operations. Followlng minimal refurblshment, It wlll have
the same functlonal performance characterlstlcs as prior
to ths military employment period.
ReversTble converslon heretofore has not been practical
because the converted alrcraft conflguratlon has been unsatls-
factory from -i-he standpolnt of fllght performance obtalned
or structural modlfica-tlon requlred. Some converted configura-
t70ns typlcally create excesslve drag, or Impose addltional
stresses or fatigue on the aircraft above original desi~n
~5 allowables. Other converted configurations require excessiv~
structural modiflcatlon. These converied conflguratlons may
be characterlzed as internal carry and external carry.
In the Internal carry conf7guration, It 15 In general
requlred to relnforce the floor In which the payload wlll
be carrled and to modlfy the cargo doors or other ex1t openlngs
through whlch it can ba loaded on the ground and dlscharged
In fllght. Misslles preferably should be launched wlth thelr
longitudlnal axls along the directlon of fllght. Thls through
the currently exlstlng opanlngs in commercial passenger alr-
craft Is just about Impossible. Launchlng in other than thlspreferred orTentatlon causes serious stress and fllght dynamic
probiems in the Infllght ejectlon operatlon. Relnforcement
of the loadlng floor and structural modlficatlons of the
launch openlngs are In general expenslve, not only In terms
of dlrect cost but also owlng to the duratlon of modiflcations
whTch take the airplane out of commerclal serYice with the
concomltant loss of revenue. The addltional relnforcement
results In permanent payload penalty over extended peace-
time periods before the actual milltary use (possibly as
long as the operat10nal llfe of the aircraft), the user Is
thus forced to suffer the correspondlng revenue loss. Thls
Tn turn calls for undeslrable reimbursement vla direct payments
or prlvlleges through regulatory declslons.
In the external carry conflguratlon, payload packages
2~7~
--3-
such as misslles or cannlsters are attached to the outside of the
aircraft, In this instance, of course, drag and aero-elastic
stability problems become important conslderatlons. In general,
structural modlficattons are requlred to provide the hard point
or mounting posts upon which the load can be attached. Drag can
be avoTded by provldlng approprlate fairlngs~ but with current
destgns tusually referred to as conformal carrlages), such
falrtngs must also be attached to the structural strong potnts
o~ the aircraft. Once again, structural modlflcatlons to the
extent that thoy cause payload panalty and avallabillty loss are
- undeslrable as expiained above. Another form of external carry
makes use of a rotary rack, such as that used In military alr-
craft, mounted in an aerodynamically shaped pod to be carrlsd
on a single strong-potnt bullt tn one of the wings of certain
commerclal aTrcraft. (The original design purpose of the strong-
point was to carry a spare englne). The military payload that
can be carried under such condltlons, however9 Is of limited
welght.
~O SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provldes a payload carrler for
detachable mounting on selected vehtcles havlng bodles whlch
are of c~oss-sectlonal outlines within a predetermlned range of
, outllnas~ the carrier comprlsfng: guide means engagable wlth the
:25 exterior of a vehlcle body about the perlphery thereof; and pay-
load posltlonlng means operatively assoclated wlth sald gulde
means for movement wiih respect thereto to move a payload article
;~wlth respect to the body perlphery toward a payload eJectlon
statlon a~ which the payload article may be released; sald
guide means Includtng means conformable to the cross-sectional
outllne of the body for applylng a compressive force about the
body perlphery to malntaln said guide means In a flxed posltlon
thereon.
The present inventlon also provides a method for
converiing an alrcraft to an ALM carrler alrcraft, comprlslng
the steps of: securlng gulde track means to the alrcraft
fuselage about the perlphery thereof essenttally by applytng
a peripheral compressive force thereto; and mounting payload
posittonlng means to satd gulde meàns for suppor~tng a plura-
~'
I il r7 2 ~ ~j) 9
--4--lity of ALMIs In parallel alignment with the longitudinal axis
of -he fusalage for movement with respect to the fuselage peri-
- phery toward an ajectlon station at which an ALM may be releasad,
whereby the aircraft may be converted to an ALM carrler and may
be refurbished to Its prlor conditlon with essentlally no mod-
ificatlon to the fuselage or the structure.
More specifically, the present Inventton provldes a
carrier adapted for an external carry configuratlon wherain
one or more ALM~s rnay be carrted by an aircraft whlch i5 re-
verslbly converted for milTtary usage. As a consequence, any
atrcraft of appropriata payload capacity may, using thls inven-
tTon, be reversibly converted Into a mllitary payload or ALM
carrier yleldlng acceptable flight parformance, with mlnimal
structural modificatton. Followlng military operatlons, the
alrcraft may be refurbished for non-milTtary use. Thls Inven-
tlon therefore offers to make a natlon s commercial alrllne
~leet, military transport aircraft, and other avallable alrcraft
as milltary payload carrters, especlally as ALM carrlers. The
Inventlon also offers the posslbillty of convertlng mlll-iary
alrcraft, design for other uses, to ALM carrlers, in a reversi-
ble modec
According to one preferred embodlment of ihe inven-
tion, the carrler Includes one or rr,ore conformable guide tracks
whlch are secured under tenslon to the a;rcraft fuselage at
spaced apart locations along the length thereof. An endless
flexlble posltionlng chain Is mounted Inside of each track and
Is freely movable about the perlphery of the fuselage Irres-
pective of the exact shape of the fuselage In cross-sectlon or
of deformatlons therein under flight loads. The positloning
chains are motor drlven and so posittonable that payload packages
attached thereto can be moved In sequen-iai or arbitrarily chosen
ordsr from any inltial posltion along the fuselage perlphery
Into the ejection (launch) posltion (s). For ALM applicatton,
multlple mlsslles are carrled about the fuselage perlphery In
parallel alignment with the longttudlnal axis of the fuselage
and are supported at their ends by iwo spaced apart gulde tracks
and associated positioning chains. A permanent or jettlson-
able fairing surrounds the carrier to ensure relatlvely modest
1 ~72~79
--5--
addltlonal drag caus0d by the addltional payload. Excesstve
structural loads can be absorbed, if necessary, by Internal
braclng of the fuselage. Accordlng to further aspects of the
S invention for AUM application in particular, additional ALM s
may be carrTed in externally afflxed channels or tracks for
reloading. If the slze of the missiles permlt, Internally
carried missiles could be loaded into the externai channeis
by a transfer device Installed In tha cargo door.
These and other features, obJects, and advantages of
~he present Invention wlll becvme apparent from the detalied
description and clalms to follow, taken In conJunction with the
accompanying drawings in which lilce parts bear llke reference
numerals.
BR_EF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. I is a perspective of an alrcraft equipped wTth
two carrlers according to thls invention, the carriers mounted
`- fore and aft of -the wing~
' FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspectlve of the forward
: 20 Flg. I carrler;
FIG. 3 is a perspective of one gulde track section
and associated positlonTng chaln of the Flg. 2 carrier;
FIG. 4 Is a perspective of the Flg. 3 gulde track;
FIG. 5 Is a slde elevation of the Fig. 4 guide track;
FIG. 6 is a slde elevation generally stmliar to Fig. S
but ~n expanded scale of one end of the guide track In dlfferent
posltlons;
FIG. 7 is a perspectlve of the Fig. I forward carrler
wlth a falring and supportlng an ALM payload;
FIG, 8 Is a section talcen along the llna 8-8 in Flg. 7;
FIG. 9 is a sectlon taken along the llne 9-9 In Flg. 8;
FIG. 10 Is a section taken along the llne 10-10 tn
Flg. 2;
FIG. Il Is a side elevatlon of a modifled payload
suppor~;
FIG. 12 Is an end elevatlon of the Flg. Il support;
FIG. 13 is a side elevatlon of a second mQdlfied
payload support;
FIG. 14 Is a perspective generally slmilar to Fig. 7
l 1~2~1'7~
of a modlfied chaln drive assembly9
FIG. 15 Ts a fragmentary perspectlve on enlarged scale
of the guide track of the Flg. 14 assembly;
FIG. 16 is a perspectlve generally slmllar to Fig. 1
of an aircraft equlpped wi-th a single carrler ~falring not shown
for clari ~) and a reloading assembly;
FIG. 17 is a fragmentary sectlon generally slmllar
to Flg, 9 of the forward carrier wilh an expendable falrtng)
IO depictlng the fairlng wIth a portlon removed to permit taunch of
an ALM.
DE~AILED DESCRIPTiON OF THE DRAW ! NGS
Referrlng to Ftg. I of the drawings, a jet transport
aircraft may be eguipped wlth one or more carrters of this
~ 15 invention to reverslbly convert ~hat aircraft Tnto an ALM
;~ carrler. In the example Illustrated In Fig. 1, two carriers
6 and ~ ara detachably mounted on the aircraft fuselage 18 fore
and aft of wing 21, respectlvely. Fig~ 16 depici-s a simllar
aircraft equipped wtth a slngle forward carrler and a dorsally
located reloading assembly, to be descrlbed presently. The
Flg. I carrlers 6 and 8 are essentlally Identlcal and therefore
only carrler 6 Is described In detall herelnafter.
~ aferrfng now to Flgs. I and 2, carrler 6 Includes a
paTr of parallel endless conveyor assemblles 10 and 12 which
are spaced apart along the length of fuselage 18 a distance
corresponding to the len~th of an ALM. These conveyor assem-
blies extend about the periphery of fuselage 18 In transverse
a~ignment wlth the longttudlnal axis thereof. Assemblles 10 and
12 are Identical and therefore only assembly 10 is descrlbed
In detall hereinafter, llke parts of assembly 12 belng desig-
nated wlth the same reference numerals, prlmed.
Referrlng now to conveyor assembly 10 as Illustra~ed
In Figs. 2-6, conveyor assembly 10 is made up of a sectlonal
gulde track ~generally referenced 19) which supports and guidas
an endless posltlonlng chaln 34 of length sufflclent to enclrcle
fuselage 18. Chaln 34 Is moved wlth respect to track 19 by a
posltionlng motor 44, to be descrlbed presently. Track 19 is
composed of a plurality of elongated guide track sectlons 20
whlch are secured end-to-end by connectlng links Z4, Z6 and
. ~ ,
:'
t 1'~ 9
-7-
contractable couplings 2&~ 30. Couplings 28, 30 ar~ contrac-
-table 50 as to exert a tensile force on sections 20 to apply a
compressive radial force about the periphery of the fuselage 18
for maintainTng -track 19 in an operative conformal positlon 9
as illustrated in Flg. 2. (The track sections wTII be described
in more detail hereinafter.)
Referring to Fig~ 39 chain 34 Is made up of muitiple
elongated load bearing elements 58 which are connected together
at their ends by articulated 17nks 60. The guide track sectlons
gulde the chaTn along a curved channel in whTch the chaTn Is
confTned laferally but is freely movable in a circumferential
dir~ction. To this end, track section 20 Tncludes upstanding
: sTdewalls 62, 64 which terminate in Tips 66, 68. Thesa lips
overlap the edges of the chain 34 and serve to retain Tt within
the channel. The chaTn, of course, is unrestrained as Tt travels
between the ends of adjacent track sections as illustrated in
Flg. 2; however, Tt possesses sufficient laterlal rlgldity that
It does not tend to become misaligned during these intervals of
travel.
An important aspect of thls inventlon Is that the guide
tracl< sectlons are conformable to a range of fuselage contours.
That Is, the guide track sections are sufficiently flexlble that
they will conform to the contour of the underlying portTon of the
aircraft fuselage. As a consequence, the gulde track sectlons
may be applted to the aircraft fuselage at different locatTons
which exhlblt varying curvatures and may be applTed to dlfferent
aircrafi-. Furthermore, the guide track sections are sufficient-
ly flexlble to enable the fuselage shape to change In fllght
: 30 stresses without creatlng excesslve local stress concentratlons.
To thls end, the track sectlon Includes side openings 70 of
C-shaped outllne whlch are formed in the sidewalls 62, 64 and
terminate In slots 72 whlch extend transversely of lips 66, 68.
Slots 72 are of sufficlent width that, wlth the track sectton
posttloned wTth openlngs 70 facing outwardly from the fuselage,
the track sectlon can flex radially to assume a range of curva-
tures. The track section obtained Is thus rigld wifh respect to
longitudlnal and laterial forces, but is flexible with respect
to radlal forces~ Referring to Fi~. 6, a typical track sectlon
7 9
-8--
is illustrated in three load condttions freestandlng ~ref-
erenced A) wherein it presents Its smallest radius of curvature,
under essentially no-load conditlons~ nominal (referenced B)
whereln tt is forced to conform to i-he nominal fuselage radlus
of curvature, shown here as sl1ghtly larger than in A; and max-
Imum radius of curvaturs (referenced C) wherein ii~ is subjected
to the maximum flexural load in the plane of the conveyor
assembly 10~ W1th thts construction, the track section will
assume a radlus of curvature whlch conforms to the radius of
curvature of the underlying portlon of the fus21age when the
track sectlon is subJect~d to an appropriate tensile force applied
along its length. The guide track section Is composed of an
appropriate material, such as alumlnumJ having desired flexural
and load bearlng properties.
Thus, it is possibleJ by applying sufflcient tenslle
force to the Interconnected track sectlons uslng couplings 2~
and 30, to grlp the sxterior of ihe fuselage 18 so as to generaie
sufflcient frictlon forces to prevent relativa motion of gu7de
track 19 wtth respect to the fuselage~ both In the axial and the
peripheral directlons. If, however, thls condltion Is not
satlsfied; that ts, If the contact forces are Insufflclen-i to
ensure the absence of such relative motlon under condltions of
allowable clrcumferential forces~ seml-permaneni adhestve mat-
erlal 73 could be applied between the Inslde ~rack surface andthe fuselage skin. The effect of thls adheslve Is to Increase,
by a substantial factor, the contact or gripplng forces be-
tween the guide track and the fuselage skln. For an equlvalent
magnltude of contact forces, thls would aliow the reductlon of
the hoop ~clrcumfsrential) tension and thereby the radlal com-
presslve force applled to the fuselage. The adheslve shoulcl be
preferably seml-permanent so that followlng th~ completion of
mllltary mlsstons, the gulde track could be removable by
application of relatlvely small separatlon forces~ Thereafter,
the adheslve can be sanded or cleaned off so as to restore the
origlnal condltion of the fuselage.
It may be required to relnforce the fuselage Inter-
nally agalnst the addltlonal static loads imposed by the
aforementioned radial compresslve forces and dynamtc loads
,
'
~1~2~79
g
resulttng from the gravlty and inertlal forces acting upon the
payload packages and other components formtng part of the con-
veyor assembly. R~ferr1ng to Ftg. 10, expandable radial braces
: 5 50 may be connected between longitudinal braclng beams 52 and the
aircraft floor structure 54, so as to offer addl-tional support
: agalnst radial loads without causing excesslve forcss to act on
the floor structure. addltional circumferential supports 56
also could be mounted by beams 52, as shown. In most prac-ilcal
ALM carrler applications, such relnforcement should not bs re-
qulred. If used, however, the relnforcement should be config-
: ured In such a manner as to permlt assembly~ tensionlng, dls-
assembly, and dTsposal of the payload carrisr without modifi-
cation of the primary aircraft structure.
Referring now to Figs. 7-9, tracks i9 and 19' and
respectively assoclated positionlng chalns 34 and 34~ are
mounted onto the exterlor of fuselage 18 for supportlng the
ends of an ALM. Supports 36 and 361 are assembled to chaTns
34 and 34'~ respoctively, for supportlng the ends of the ALM.
As an ALM carrler of multiple ALM's as depicted in Flgs. 8 and
9, multtple ALM~s (ALM I - 10) are carrled in parallel align~
ment wlth the longttudinal a~is of fuselage 18. Indivldual
drlve motors 44, 46 are connected to and drlve these chalns
In unison. In the example, these motors are elec-trTcally pow-
ered and are connected by respecttve power transmisslons 70, 72to chains 19 and 191. In operation, these motors move the
chalns In unlson a predetermTned ciistance and maintain the
chalns at a selected Index position. The motors may move the
chalns bl-dlrectlonally, or conttnuously, to present a S9 lected
ALM or other payload item at an ejectlon station which, In the
example, Is located adjacent the underslde or belly of fuselage
18. ~ALM 10 Is located a-t the eJectlon statlon In Fl~. 9.) The
ALM is eJeoted by releastng It from supports 36, 36~ and allow-
lng It to drop away from the alrcraft. An approprlate ejecilon
devlce could be used to apply a force to the ALM for tnltlally
separatTng It from the aircraft. Thus, the ALM~s may be eJected
In a predetermlned sequence, or a selected ALM may be ejected
out-of-sequence, as the case may be. By controlltng release oF
the ALM occupylng the eJection station9 of course, it would be
- 10--
posslble to move an ALM past the eJectlon statton, whtch there-
after may be occup1ed by a succaedtng ALM or other payload item.
The former ALM, of course, could be returned to the ejectton
statlon at a later tlme by reverse movement.
A fatring 48 may be mounted by the tracks 19 and 19
and provldes an aerodynamlcally shaped shell type surface sur-
roundTng the ALM s~ as depicted In Figs. 7 - 9. As tllustrated
In Ftg. 9~ Falr7ng 48 tncludes ejectlon doors 49 at the ejec
tlon statlon. These doors are opened to eJact an ALM.
To convert a commerctal aircraft to an ALM carrier,
the gulde track sections are secured snugly around the outer
surface of the alrcraft $uselage at approprlate locatlons and
are subjected to sufflclent tensloning effort that frlctional
~rlpptng forcos will be applied to the alrcra~t skln. Once the
tracks are in posltlon, the posTtioning chains ars assembled
in place. The posttionlng motor or motors are now mounted to
the fuselage, together wlth approprtate hydraullc or electrlcal
circults and drlvlng mechantsm ts~ so that, upon recelvlng the
appropriaie command slgnalJ the position!ng chains wlll meve
in elther directlon or stop Tn a specified Index positlon.
The drlve assembly Is so designcd that two or more positionlng
chains whlch belong to the same group of two or more conformable
gulde tracks retatn their relatlve peripheral posltlons when
drlven by the positlonlng motors. The assembly comprtsing two
or several movable posittoning chains 1n the corresponding
number of guide tracks is now ready to receive the payload pack-
ages, whlch for the purposes of this descriptton are assoclated
with roughly cylindrically-shaped misslles. The missile
packagss are now mounted io the posltlonlng chalns In posltton
around the perlphery of the fuselage. Followlng these assembly
op~ratlons, the reversible converslon Is complete and the alr-
craft Is ready to undertake Its milttary mlssion ~s).
In typlcal mllltary mlssion, the alrcraft is flown
to the launch area uslng Its own navigation and communlcatlon
equlpment. The initlaltzatlon messages to the mlssiles, I.e.,
the electronically conveyed slgnals to be stored In the mtsslles
which glve navigatlon and weapon arming and fuslng Information,
are generated by the proper milltary command and control systam
:~7~79
. , I--
electronics communicatlon equipment. The tnitlalIzatlon is
stored either directly In the mlsslles or auxillary interface
equlpment on board the alrcrafi-. The latter may be lodged
In remo~able pallets, loaded and conneoted to the payload prior
to take-off. The launch commands are then generated by the
mill--ary comm~nd and control system and are aither relayed
diractly to the missiles via the onboard co~lunications
equlpment, or prestorad Tn the aircraft and released via an
enabling launch message sent to the aircraft personnel which
in turn wlll generate the actual launch commands. The missile
to be launched Is so positioned that it faces the eJection
door, the missiler is launched and the operation ls rep~ated
untll such time as the entlre carrler Is empty or the mission
orders are mod1fied. Following the missile launch, the air-
craft returns to its original base or to an alternate base and
Is elther reloaded or refurblshed. If for some reason the
mlsslles are not lawnched~ they ara returned to the home base
or Jettlsoned in fllght.
Referrlng agatn to Fig. 7, falring 48 reduces drag
at the expense of addltlonal welght and cost. For long-range
mtsstons, such as transatlantic ranges for example, the cirag
reduction offered by the fairings Is often found mandatory.
For much shorter ranges or when aerial refueling Is posslble,
the need for reduclng drag is much less imperatlve. It Is thus
posslble, for those mlsslons less sensitive to drag, to ellmlnate
fairTng entlrely, or shape the guide tracks in a manner whlch
offers some measure of aerodynamical~y desirable proflle in
the longitudinal dlrectTon.
Referrlng to Fig. 17, an expendable fairlng 48 also
could be used in place of a track mounted falrlng 48. In thls
instance9 after assembly of the payload packages to the poslt10n-
lng chalns, the Intersttces between the AiM s and the fuselags
as well as the spaces between the ALM~s could be ftlled wlth
llghtweight, fast-curing material, such as urethane foam, for
example, The external surface of this material could be molded
In the deslrable aerodynamlc shape and coated externally wlth
smooth palnt or s1mllar materlal and formed to rupture upon
eJection of any one of the ALM s. This rupture would occur In
~ 2 ~
the entirety of th~ molded fairlng whan the ALM is ejected, or
along mechanlcally weakened fault ITnes which cause fracture of
the moldlng portion associated with any one or several mlssiles.
Electrlcal wlres 83 could be embedded In the molded falrlng as
depicted in i~lg. 17 to produce fracture along predetermined In-
ternal surfaces foilowlng the passage of current In these wlres
when fracture is desTred. In the Illustrated example, a portlon
o~ falrlng 48 has been fractured and removed durlng eJectlon of
ALM 10 ~not shown), with fracture having occurred along para-
llel fault llnss formed by wTres a3. In the expendable fairlng,
of course It is essential that: pr70r to, and following par~ial
launch of missiles, the relatlve moi-lon of the ALM s in the
perTpheral directlon under the actton o$ the positlonlng motors
i5 must not perceptibly interact with the alrcraft or mlsslle
motlons and structures; and followlng partlal or compiete launch
.- of the mlssiles, the then remalning portlon of the molded falr-Ing does not signlficantly degrade the theretofore experlenced
drag performance.
Z0 A modlfled drlve assembly Is Illustrated In figs~ 14
and 15. In thls assembly, a motor Is essentlally inst~lled in
the place of one payload package and is mounted on posltionin~
chain 34. A sultable reduction gear tratn 86 transmlts power
from motor 84 to a fixed rack 88 which forms part of a con-
25 formable guide track 90 ~see FTg. 15). A motor 92, gear train
84, and rack 96 are associated with parallel gulde track 98.
These motors are operated in unison to e~ert forces on racks
88 and 96 to drlve the posltionlng chains wlth respect to thalr
respective gulde tracks.
Referrlng to Figs. Il and 12, when the payload
packages are relatlvely short, more than two gulde tracks may
; be employed under the same faTring. The deslgn cholce Is to
use elther two chaln tracks with the payload packages such as
ALM s mounted on an auxll7ary stiffentng structure 100 as
deplcted in Flgs. Il and 12, or to use more than two tracks,
wlth the Intermedlary track serving both mlssiles assembled
along the same generatrlx of the fuselage as deplci-ed In Flg. 3.
The concept can be expanded to cover comblnations of the above
in order to sarve more than two missiles mounted along the same
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generatrix. Whatever the number of gulde tracks serving a
given carrier, of course, the positioning motors must be
mechanlcally or elactrically synchronized so that in ths course
of perlpheral motton of tha positionlng chalns, the relatlve
posltion of all missiles w711 be preserved.
Referrlng to Fig. 16, a slngle forward carrler
~referenced 80) may be reloaded wlth fresh AU~Is carrled
externally to the fuselage 18. To thls end, external tubes,
tracks or channels are installed along any one or several of
the fuselage generatrix llnes. These channels or loading
tracks may be used to store, and upon proper commanci to cilsplace
In the axlal directlon~ ml~slles or other payload packages
simllar In nature and shape to those described hereinabove.
An axemplary assemblage of loading tracks, dlsplacement meclt-
antsms, payload packages and aerodynamlc falring surfaces
as a dorsal loadlng structure 82 installed on the upper lat-
eral surface of the fusetage is Illustrated in Fig. 16. In
the example, structure 82 includes three parallel tubes 84,
8~, 88 whlch termlnate at thelr front ends in coaxlal allgn-
mant with three adJacent Index posltlons of carrler 80. A
dorsal falrtng 90 is mounted on the fuselage.
Once the mlsslles or other payload packages have been
launched from the carrler 80, the mlssilas or payload packages
s~ored in the dorsal loading structure 82 are moved forwardly
In the ax7al dlrectton vta tubes 84, 86~ 88 to effec~ reload.
The posltioning chalns are for thls purposa stopped In the pos-
ltion required to accept one, two, or threa fresh mlssl 19s
from tube~ 84, 86, 88. Followlng acceptance of three fresh
mlsslles9 the chains are rotated to advanca three index pos-
ltlons for additlonal raloadlng. Thls loadlng operatlon is
repeated untll all ALM posltlons are occupled by fresh misslles
or untll the reload misslle supply is exhausted.
; For use wlth alrcraft equlpped wtth a forward cargo
door, a slngle carrler could be mounted by ths aft portion
of ths fuselage as Illustrated by carrler 8 in Flg. 1. Tv
reload this carrier, missTles or payload packages are trans-
ferred to the carriar 8 from Inside the aircraft via the
cargo door and then rearwardly along the external loadlng
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track generally similar to structure 82. In thls case, carrler
8 need not Include a f~Tring and the loadlng track requlres a
mlnlmal fairlng. Carrler 8 remains empty untll the alr~raft
approaches a dellvery location, at whlch tlm~ the carrler Is
loaded~
To maintaln in-flight balance ~hen only a slngle
foward carrler Is usedJ elther reserve fuel or movable ballast
should be loaded In the aft portion o~ the fuselaye and reposl-
IO tloned automa~icaliy as the mlsslles are expendsd. Scme Inertballast wlll be requlred to ensure proper balance in the case
~ where the fuel reservs is exhausted and the alrplans must return
- to base without having launched its mtssiles. Slmtlar balanclng
techntques9 of course, may be used when only a slngle aft carrler
Is used.
Although one preferrad embodl,ment of the inventlon has
been Illustrated and described herelnJ varlatlons wlll become
apparent to one of ordinary sklll tn the art. Accordlngly~ the
Invention Is not to be 17mited to the spectfic embodiment Illu-
strated and described hereln, and the tr~e scope of the InventTon
; ts to be determined by reference to the appended c1alms.
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