Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02338852 2001-03-O1
Field of the invention
The LadyBug is a hybrid aero-car having STOI_ capabilities. The LadyBug's
fuselage can be
transformed from road to airborne configuration at a push of a button. The
fuselage has hydrodynamic
design allowing the LadyBug to move from air to water with great ease. The
same fuselage permits the
LadyBug to move freely on snow and ice with especially fitted sleigh type
runners fixed to the low port
and starboard extremities of the hull shaped fuselage. The fuselage
aerodynamic design provides stable
lift in an air stream at low speed. The LadyBug meets all of the requirements
to travel on all roads,
highways and waterways. The LadyBug has an overall width of eight feet and a
length of tweny feet for
earth environment travel then is "transformed" to an aircraft with a wingspan
of more than thirteen
feet.
The LadyBug utilizes a novel aerodynamic design that can function at a high
angle of attack to
optimise low speed Lift while still presenting minimal resistance to flow at
high speeds. The LadyBug
design concept can also be scaleable to make larger versions.
Background of the invention
Of all the aircars produced, among the most successful was Robert Fulton's
"Airphibian".
Fulton flew his first prototype Airphibian in 1945 and his first production
prototype two years later, in
1947.
During the mid to late 1950's, Moulton Taylor designed and built the Aerocar
which was the
only other aircar to receive official LT.S. certification. "The Airphibian
represents a technical success as a
flying car, however, it was not a marketable design. The prototypes were
driven over 200,000 miles and
made over 6,000 car/plane conversions. The conversion process, however, was
judged to be too
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complicated and lengthy. Performance in the air was considered sluggish due to
the weight penalty of
automotive parts, a perennial problem in aerocars.
Therefore, the search for a practical, light flight car continues
today."(1998; National Air and
Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution) Aeronautical and material Technologies
have come a long way
since Fulton and Taylor.
DESCRIPTION
The design of the LadyBug is similar to that of a "flying wing"; i.e. the
vehicle's fuselage is low,
wide, and shaped as an airfoil (Drawing 1 & 2). The bottom forward section
approximately half is
configured to resemble that of a hydroplane bottom, with exaggerated outer
edges that turn the outward
moving air fully downward. (Drawing 3 D & F, 4 G & I~. The reaction from this
provides extra lift
from air currents that would normally be lost while offering little resistance
to aft flow of air at lower
angles of attack and higher speeds.
CA 02338852 2001-03-O1
This configuration also makes an excellent hydroplane for landing and take off
from any body
of calm water. The lower outer edges of the hydroplane also serve as sleigh
runners for landing on ice
or snow. (Drawing 4 F & J). The retractable wheels are used for ground landing
and highway travel.
(Drawing 4 K,L & 1~.
The Ladybug has attitude control in front of the airfoil-shaped
fuselage.(Drawing 1 C) This
enhances and creates a more aerodynamic design than other flying car designs.
The I ady Bug
accomplishes higher lift at low speed and low drag at high speed than does
other air cars.
The conventional elevator assembly was eliminated and replaced with a front
mounted elevator
of the canard type (Drawing 1 C) by extending the elevator concept around the
front to connect both
elevators into one airfoil the forward centre section is suspended in such way
that it tilts up and down in
front of the leading edge. (Drawing 1 B & D).
This gives the Lady Bug a conventional jay flap effect on takeoff and landing
while taking a mid
position at cruising speeds, changing the effective airflow from high camber
at take off to convex at
cruising speeds. The retractable outer winglets of the LadyBug (Drawing 4 A &
E) are configured to
produce high lift potential during take off or landing.
These vortex generators produce outward rolling vortexes (Drawing 3 C)
resulting in a high
pressure barrier on each side of the lower side fuselage while air pressure
passing from under the
winglets through the air slot fender (Drawing 3 B) and over top of the
winglets follows the winglets out
and downward (Drawing 3 A) by the 'coanda effect'.
This provides extra lift and induces a secondary outward airflow above the
winglets (Drawing 3
K & J) thus protecting the low-pressure area above the fuselage (Drawing 3 L)
from influx air from
each side. This thereby enhances the fuselage lifting ability at low speeds,
at higher speed with a lower
angles of attack, the air flows more directly from front to back of winglets,
encountering less drag
therefore allowing for more speed from a given thrust.
Upon reaching optimum speed the winglets can be retracted to fit to the
fuselage sides
(Drawing 4 E) and the fuselage airfoil alone will produce enough lift to carry
its load without the need
for winglets.
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This further reduces drag and allows the same thrust to accelerate the craft
to maximum speed,
the rounded and flattened nose of the fuselage (Drawing 1 E) allows air to
move out in omni direction
which further reduces drag and enhances top speed performance.
The engine turbo fan being located at the rear (Drawing 1 I~ and over top of
the fuselage air
foil having its air intake at the rear of the low pressure area (Drawing 3 L)
enhances the low pressure lift
of the fuselage thereby discouraging stall effect at low speed, which helps
the LadyBug to fly at high
angles of attack and low speeds.
The controls are simple. The rear rudders are controlled by pedals for banks
and turns.
(Drawing 1 J & G). A "T" head column controls attitude by moving the front
elevator and provides
steering control to the front wheels for ground travel. A brake pedal and
engine throttle. The winglets
are controlled by electric switches.
The ground propulsion is accomplished via a hydraulic or electric motor to the
rear wheel or
wheels. This provides reverse and moderate forward speeds of SO km/h, beyond
that the turbo fan
would become practical on the ground, snow, ice, water and airborne.
