An active winglet 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 a controllable airflow modification device coupled thereto. By virtue of having a controllable airflow mo
An active winglet 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 a controllable airflow modification device coupled thereto. By virtue of having a controllable airflow modification device, the winglet is capable of adjusting a control surface of the controllable airflow modification device in response to in-flight conditions, to reduce wing loads, increase range, and/or increase efficiency.
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1. A wing of an aircraft comprising: an angled portion coupled to the wing outboard of an aileron; anda controllable airflow modification device coupled to the wing inboard of the angled portion and outboard of the aileron, the controllable airflow modification device controllable independently of t
1. A wing of an aircraft comprising: an angled portion coupled to the wing outboard of an aileron; anda controllable airflow modification device coupled to the wing inboard of the angled portion and outboard of the aileron, the controllable airflow modification device controllable independently of the aileron, the controllable airflow modification device comprising a portion of a control surface having an edge substantially adjacent to and parallel with an edge of the wing, and the controllable airflow modification device configured to reduce a load on the wing. 2. The wing of claim 1, the load comprising stress in the wing caused at least in part by an aerodynamic load exerted on the angled portion. 3. The wing of claim 1, the controllable airflow modification device configured to reduce the load on the wing below a design load. 4. The wing of claim 1, the controllable airflow modification device configured to reduce a spanwise section load to a level at or below a design value for an analogous wing without an angled portion. 5. The wing of claim 1, the controllable airflow modification device being configured to adjust a control surface of the controllable airflow modification device at least one of electronically, mechanically, hydraulically, pneumatically, or a combination thereof. 6. The wing of claim 1, the controllable airflow modification device coupled to a control system for controlling a control surface of the controllable airflow modification device. 7. The wing of claim 6, the control system comprising a control device with control logic, the control device being communicatively coupled to a sensor located on the aircraft. 8. The wing of claim 7, the control device being configured to receive a signal from the sensor located on the aircraft to indicate at least one of in-flight load factors of the aircraft and flight conditions of the aircraft. 9. The wing of claim 8, the control device being further configured to adjust the controllable airflow modification device at least partly based on the signal from the sensor located on the aircraft. 10. The wing of claim 1, further comprising a control system to actively control the controllable airflow modification device to alleviate loads affecting the wing of the aircraft. 11. The wing of claim 1, further comprising a control system to actively control the controllable airflow modification device to reduce fatigue of the aircraft. 12. A method comprising: receiving in-flight load factor data from a sensor located on an aircraft; andadjusting a controllable airflow modification device coupled to a wing of the aircraft based at least in part on the received in-flight load factor data, the controllable airflow modification device configured to reduce a load on a wing and controllable independently of an aileron of the aircraft, the load comprising a stress in the wing caused at least in part by an aerodynamic load exerted on an angled portion, the angled portion coupled to the wing and located outboard of the aileron, the controllable airflow modification device coupled to the wing outboard of the aileron, the controllable airflow modification device comprising a control surface with an edge substantially in line with an edge of the wing. 13. The method of claim 12, the load comprising a spanwise section load, and the controllable airflow modification device configured to reduce the spanwise section load to a level at or below a design value for an analogous wing without an angled portion. 14. The method of claim 12, the controllable airflow modification device having at a trailing edge that is substantially parallel to a trailing edge of the wing of the aircraft. 15. The method of claim 12, the controllable airflow modification device comprising one edge or portion of a control surface coupled to a hinge. 16. The method of claim 15, the adjusting of the controllable airflow modification device comprising rotating the control surface at the hinge along a horizontal axis such that an edge of the control surface other than the one edge coupled to the hinge moves up or down in relation to the horizontal portion of the aircraft. 17. The method of claim 12, the adjusting of the controllable airflow modification device configured to at least one of reduce a wing load of a wing of the aircraft by moving a center of pressure of the wing inboard or reduce an impact of a winglet on a fatigue life of a wing of the aircraft, the wing load comprising at least one of a bending moment or a torsion moment of the wing. 18. 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;an angled portion coupled to the baseline wing outboard of the aileron; anda controllable airflow modification device coupled to the baseline wing inboard of the angled portion and outboard of the aileron, the controllable airflow modification device controllable independently of the aileron, the controllable airflow modification device located at a trailing edge of the baseline wing, and the controllable airflow modification device configured to reduce a load on the baseline wing. 19. The aircraft of claim 18, the controllable airflow modification device configured to reduce the load on the wing below a design load. 20. The aircraft of claim 18, the controllable airflow modification device coupled to a control system for controlling a control surface of the controllable airflow modification device, the control system comprising a control device with control logic, the control device being communicatively coupled to a sensor located on the aircraft, the control device being configured to receive a signal from the sensor located on the aircraft to indicate at least one of in-flight load factors of the aircraft and flight conditions of the aircraft, the control device being further configured to adjust the controllable airflow modification device at least partly based on the signal from the sensor located on the aircraft.
Liu, Danny D.; Chen, Ping-Chih; Sarhaddi, Darius, Apparatus and methods for variable sweep body conformal wing with application to projectiles, missiles, and unmanned air vehicles.
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