US 11,987,351 B2
Tow line tension management systems for aircraft
Russell C. Peters, Fort Worth, TX (US); John Robert Wittmaak, Jr., Newark, TX (US); Alyssa Berta Armendariz, Fort Worth, TX (US); and Christopher John Stroncek, Kennedale, TX (US)
Assigned to Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed by Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed on Aug. 10, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/885,053.
Prior Publication US 2024/0051661 A1, Feb. 15, 2024
Int. Cl. B64C 29/00 (2006.01); B64C 29/02 (2006.01); B64D 1/22 (2006.01); B64D 3/00 (2006.01); B64U 10/14 (2023.01); B64U 10/20 (2023.01); B64U 10/60 (2023.01)
CPC B64C 29/0091 (2013.01) [B64C 29/02 (2013.01); B64D 1/22 (2013.01); B64D 3/00 (2013.01); B64U 10/14 (2023.01); B64U 10/20 (2023.01); B64U 10/60 (2023.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tailsitter aircraft for deploying a tow line having a tow line tension, the tailsitter aircraft comprising:
an airframe including first and second wings with first and second pylons extending therebetween;
a thrust array attached to the airframe, the thrust array including a plurality of propulsion assemblies configured to transition the airframe between a forward flight orientation having wing-borne lift and a VTOL orientation having thrust-borne lift;
an attenuation spool coupled to the airframe;
an attenuation cable having a first end coupled to the attenuation spool and a second end coupled to the tow line, the attenuation cable at least partially wound around the attenuation spool;
a spool sensor configured to detect movement of the attenuation spool; and
a flight control system implementing a tow line tension monitoring module in communication with the spool sensor to determine a tow line tension parameter and a tow line tension reaction module configured to initiate an aircraft response based on the tow line tension parameter.