Means for maintaining a desired relationship between roll and yaw stability in a swept-wing aircraft by varying dihedral as a function of lift coefficient

摘要

An assembly for controlling the lateral stability of a swept- wing aircraft by varying the geometric dihedral of the wing as a function of the wing's lift coefficient, such assembly including a mechanism for producing a signal or other type response representative of the lift coefficient of the wing at any particular point in time during flight including changes in such lift coefficient due to changes in the particular flight condition or aerodynamic characteristics of such wing, and a mechanism responsive to such signal or other response for controlling and activating movement of variable dihedral panels associated with the respective opposite portions of the wing. Movement of the variable dihedral panels changes the geometric dihedral of such wing in direct response to changes in the wing's lift coefficient and this enables one to maintain the overall effective dihedral of the aircraft, and consequently, the rolling moment stability coefficient, relatively constant throughout the entire flight envelope of the aircraft.