초록 ▼

An active wing extension includes a body portion substantially parallel to a wing of an aircraft, as if it were an extension of the wing. The body portion is attachable to an aircraft wing and includes multiple controllable airflow modification devices coupled thereto. By virtue of having multiple c

An active wing extension includes a body portion substantially parallel to a wing of an aircraft, as if it were an extension of the wing. The body portion is attachable to an aircraft wing and includes multiple controllable airflow modification devices coupled thereto. By virtue of having multiple controllable airflow modification devices, the wing extension is capable of adjusting control surfaces of the multiple controllable airflow modification devices in response to in-flight conditions, to reduce wing loads, improve wing fatigue characteristics, increase range, and/or increase efficiency.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An aircraft comprising: a fuselage;a baseline wing, the baseline wing coupled to the fuselage at a first end of the baseline wing and having an aileron; anda wing extension comprising:a horizontal portion coupled to a second end of the baseline wing, such that the horizontal portion is outboard o

1. An aircraft comprising: a fuselage;a baseline wing, the baseline wing coupled to the fuselage at a first end of the baseline wing and having an aileron; anda wing extension comprising:a horizontal portion coupled to a second end of the baseline wing, such that the horizontal portion is outboard of the baseline wing; anda plurality of controllable airflow modification devices (CAMDs) directly coupled to the horizontal portion of the wing extension, the plurality of CAMDs being configured to alleviate a load on a wing and to be controllable independently of the aileron, a first CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs being disposed outboard of a second CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs. 2. The aircraft of claim 1, a CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs, comprising: a control surface disposed relative to—a trailing edge of the baseline wing, such that the control surface is substantially parallel to the baseline wing; anda control system for controlling motion of the control surface based at least in part on in-flight load data. 3. The aircraft of claim 2, the control surface being configured for the aircraft based at least in part on historical flight data. 4. The aircraft of claim 2, the control system being communicatively coupled to a sensor located on the aircraft and configured to receive a signal from the sensor located on the aircraft. 5. The aircraft of claim 2, the control system configured to control the control surface of the CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs independent of a control surface of another CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs. 6. The aircraft of claim 2, the control system configured to control the control surface of the CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs in coordination with another CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs. 7. A wing extension fixedly attachable to a baseline wing of an aircraft, the wing extension comprising: a horizontal portion that, when attached to the aircraft, is substantially parallel to the baseline wing of the aircraft, the horizontal portion being configured to fixedly attach to an outboard portion of the baseline wing of the aircraft;a plurality of controllable airflow modification devices (CAMDs) coupled to the horizontal portion of the wing extension, the plurality of CAMDs being configured to alleviate a load on the baseline wing and to be controllable independently of a control surface of the baseline wing; anda wingtip device directly coupled to an outboard portion of the horizontal portion. 8. The wing extension of claim 7, a CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs being coupled to a control system for controlling a control surface of the CAMD. 9. The wing extension of claim 8, the control system being configured to control the plurality of CAMDs independently of one or more of an auto-pilot or—a fly-by-wire system of the aircraft. 10. The wing extension of claim 8, the control system comprising a control device with control logic, the control device being configured to communicatively couple to a sensor located on the aircraft. 11. The wing extension of claim 10, the control device being configured, when coupled to the sensor, to receive a signal from the sensor located on the aircraft to indicate flight conditions of the aircraft. 12. The wing extension of claim 11, the control device being further configured to adjust the CAMD at least partly based on the signal from the sensor located on the aircraft. 13. A method comprising: receiving flight condition data from a sensor located on an aircraft; andadjusting a plurality of controllable airflow modification devices (CAMDs) located on a wing extension of the aircraft based at least in part on the received flight condition data, the plurality of CAMDs located on a horizontal portion of the wing extension that is substantially parallel to a baseline wing of the aircraft, the plurality of CAMDs controllable independently of a control surface of the baseline wing, a first CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs located outboard of a second CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs. 14. The method of claim 13, the adjusting of the plurality of CAMDs comprising, for each CAMD, rotating a control surface about a hinge along a horizontal axis such that an edge of the control surface moves up or down in relation to the horizontal portion of the wing extension. 15. The method of claim 13, the adjusting of the plurality of CAMDs configured to one or more of reduce a wing load of a wing of the aircraft by moving a center of pressure of the wing, the center of pressure associated with aerodynamic forces acting on the wing, inboard or—reduce an impact of a wing extension on a fatigue life of a wing of the aircraft, the wing load comprising one or more of a bending moment or—a torsional moment of the wing. 16. The method of claim 13, the adjusting of the plurality of CAMDs comprising adjusting a first CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs independent of a second CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs. 17. The method of claim 13, the adjusting of the plurality of CAMDs comprising adjusting a first CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs in coordination with a second CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs. 18. The method of claim 13, the adjusting of the plurality of CAMDs comprising: adjusting a first CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs to provide a first control response; andadjusting a second CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs to provide a second control response, a magnitude of the second control response being greater than a magnitude of the first control response. 19. The method of claim 18, the adjusting of the plurality of CAMDs further comprising: adjusting the first CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs while the second CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs is adjusted to provide the second control response. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the magnitude of the first control response is zero and the magnitude of the second control response is greater than zero. 21. The method of claim 13, the adjusting of the plurality of CAMDs comprising: adjusting a first CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs to provide a first control response; andadjusting a second CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs to provide a second control response synchronously with the first CAMD of the plurality of CAMDs, a magnitude of the second control response being equal to a magnitude of the first control response.