초록 ▼

An assisted in-flight refueling system having a tanker aircraft equipped with a drogue; a fuel take-on aircraft equipped with a probe; and a drogue-probe coupling assist system designed to determine a first distance between the drogue and the take-on aircraft/probe, a second distance between the tan

An assisted in-flight refueling system having a tanker aircraft equipped with a drogue; a fuel take-on aircraft equipped with a probe; and a drogue-probe coupling assist system designed to determine a first distance between the drogue and the take-on aircraft/probe, a second distance between the tanker aircraft and the drogue, and a third distance between the tanker aircraft and the take-on aircraft. The drogue-probe coupling assist system is also designed to determine information relative to the necessary movement of the drogue and/or the necessary movement of the take-on aircraft to couple the drogue to the probe, as a function of the first, second, and third distance.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An assisted in-flight refueling system for a fuel take-on aircraft comprising a rigid probe; said assisted in-flight refueling system comprising a tanker aircraft, and a drogue connected to said tanker aircraft by a flexible hose and drawn by said tanker aircraft in a predetermined travelling dir

1. An assisted in-flight refueling system for a fuel take-on aircraft comprising a rigid probe; said assisted in-flight refueling system comprising a tanker aircraft, and a drogue connected to said tanker aircraft by a flexible hose and drawn by said tanker aircraft in a predetermined travelling direction, said drogue being fitted to an end portion of said flexible hose; said assisted in-flight refueling system comprising an electronic flight control system including:first, second, and third DGPS/RTK positioning modules installed respectively on said drogue, said take-on aircraft, and said tanker aircraft to determine a first quantity indicating a first distance between said drogue and said probe; a second quantity indicating a second distance between said tanker aircraft and said drogue; and a third quantity indicating a third distance between said tanker aircraft and said probe; said first DGPS/RTK positioning module being a master module configured to determine an absolute position, speed, and heading, and said second and third DGPS/RTK positioning modules being slave modules configured to determine relative distance to the master module, said second and third DGPS/RTK positioning modules transmitting relative position, distance, speed, and heading angle to said first DGPS/RTK positioning module; andan electronic control means designed to cooperate with said three positioning modules to determine, as a function of said first distance, the necessary movement of said drogue to couple said drogue to said probe, said electronic control means being continuously supplied with information from said first, second, and third DGPS/RTK positioning modules,wherein said electronic flight control system comprises a control means mounted on said drogue to move said drogue in one or more transverse directions crosswise to said travelling direction, said electronic control means being designed to control said control means as a function of said first distance, so as to move said drogue in one or more transverse directions crosswise to said travelling direction, and to align the longitudinal axis of said drogue with the longitudinal axis of said probe based on said first distance between said drogue and said probe, said electronic control means continuously processing said first distance between said drogue and said probe and continuously determining control means movements necessary to align the longitudinal axis of said drogue with the longitudinal axis of said probe, andwherein the control means includes a casing attached to said drogue at the end portion of said flexible hose, a plurality of deflecting fins extending radially from said casing, and a plurality of actuators, which move said deflecting fins. 2. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electronic flight control system comprises electronic automatic control means installed on the take-on aircraft and designed to automatically pilot said take-on aircraft as a function of said first, second, and third distance, to align said probe with said drogue. 3. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electronic flight control system comprises at least one user interface installed on said tanker aircraft and/or said take-on aircraft; said user interface being designed to provide the user with the instantaneous position of said tanker aircraft, and/or the instantaneous position of said drogue, and/or the instantaneous position of said take-on aircraft as a function of said first, second, and third distance. 4. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electronic flight control system is designed to determine a hazard situation and generate a first alarm signal, indicating said take-on aircraft coming dangerously close to said tanker aircraft, when said third distance is below a predetermined first threshold. 5. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said electronic control means are designed to cooperate with said electronic automatic control means to move said take-on aircraft to a distance greater than or equal to a predetermined safety distance from said tanker aircraft as a function of said first alarm signal. 6. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 3, wherein, on receiving said first alarm signal, each said user interface is designed to send the pilot an alarm message indicating said take-on aircraft coming dangerously close to said tanker aircraft. 7. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said electronic flight control system is designed to generate a second alarm signal, indicating said drogue coming dangerously close to said tanker aircraft, when said second distance is below a predetermined second threshold. 8. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said electronic control means are designed to cooperate with said electronic automatic control means to move said drogue automatically in said transverse directions, by means of said control means, to a distance greater than or equal to a predetermined safety distance from said tanker aircraft as a function of said second alarm signal. 9. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said user interfaces are designed to receive said second alarm signal and supply the pilot with an alarm message indicating said drogue coming dangerously close to said tanker aircraft. 10. An assisted in-flight refueling system for a fuel take-on aircraft comprising a rigid probe; the assisted in-flight refueling system comprising a tanker aircraft, and a drogue connected to the tanker aircraft by a flexible hose and drawn by the tanker aircraft in a predetermined travelling direction, the drogue being connected to an end portion of the flexible hose; the assisted in-flight refueling system comprising an electronic flight control system, which comprises a control means mounted on the drogue to move the drogue in one or more transverse directions crosswise to the travelling direction, and is designed to:cooperate with a first DGPS/RTK positioning module mounted on the drogue, a second DGPS/RTK positioning module mounted on the tanker aircraft, and a third DGPS/RTK module mounted on the probe; the first DGPS/RTK positioning module being configured to determine a first quantity indicating a first distance between the drogue and the probe; the second DGPS/RTK positioning module being configured to determine a second quantity indicating a second distance between the tanker aircraft and the drogue; and the third DGPS/RTK positioning module being configured to determine a third quantity indicating a third distance between the tanker aircraft and the probe;supply information indicating the necessary movement of the take-on aircraft to move it into a predetermined docking position, as a function of the third distance, the speed of the tanker aircraft, and the speed of the take-on aircraft;operate the control means, once the take-on aircraft is in the predetermined docking position, to move the drogue in one or more transverse directions crosswise to the travelling direction, to align a longitudinal axis of the drogue with a longitudinal axis of the probe based on the first distance between the probe and the drogue and the electronic flight control system continuously determining control means movements necessary to align the longitudinal axis of the drogue with the longitudinal axis of the probe; andonce the drogue is aligned with the probe, supply information indicating the necessary straight-line movement of the take-on aircraft towards the drogue, as a function of the first distance, to couple the probe to the drogue,wherein the control means includes a casing attached to the drogue at the end portion of the flexible hose and a plurality of deflecting fins extending radially from the casing. 11. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said electronic flight control system comprises three DGPS/RTK positioning modules installed respectively on said drogue, said take-on aircraft, and said tanker aircraft to determine said first, second, and third distance. 12. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said electronic flight control system comprises a user interface installed on said take-on aircraft and designed to supply information to assist the pilot in manoeuvring the take-on aircraft into the docking position and/or manoeuvring the take-on aircraft to couple the probe to the drogue. 13. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said electronic flight control system comprises electronic automatic control means installed on the take-on aircraft and designed to pilot the take-on aircraft automatically on the basis of said information for manoeuvring the take-on aircraft into said docking position and/or the drogue-probe coupling position. 14. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 11, and comprising a number of take-on aircraft, each comprising a DGPS/RTK positioning module; said electronic flight control system being designed to continuously determine the relative speed of each take-on aircraft with respect to said tanker aircraft, and the third distance between each take-on aircraft and the tanker aircraft. 15. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said electronic flight control system comprises a number of user interfaces installed respectively on said tanker aircraft and each take-on aircraft; said electronic flight control system being designed to:determine the position and/or travelling direction of each take-on aircraft as a function of the third distance and said relative speed;inform the pilot, over the user interface installed on the tanker aircraft, the position and/or travelling direction of each take-on aircraft with respect to said tanker aircraft; and/orinform the pilot, over the user interface installed on each take-on aircraft, the position and/or travelling direction of each take-on aircraft with respect to said tanker aircraft. 16. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first DGPS/RTK positioning module is a master module configured to determine an absolute position and wherein a second and third DGPS/RTK module are slave modules configured to determine a distance with respect to the master module. 17. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 16, wherein one of the second and third DGPS/RTK modules is configured to transmit a relative position, a distance to the master module, a speed, and a heading angle. 18. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the plurality of deflecting fins includes a first pair of deflecting fins having a first rotational axis and a second pair of deflecting fins having a second rotational axis that is not parallel to the first rotational axis. 19. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the first rotational axis and the second rotational axis are orthogonal to one another. 20. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein an end of the flexible hose is positioned substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the tanker aircraft when the flexible hose is extended in flight. 21. An assisted in-flight refueling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of fins form a cross-shaped structure.