US 12,351,307 B2
Shortening wingspan of an aircraft
Monica Thommen, Woodinville, WA (US); and Mark Steven Good, Seattle, WA (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed on Mar. 28, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/191,761.
Prior Publication US 2024/0326978 A1, Oct. 3, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B64C 3/56 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 3/56 (2013.01) 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for shortening a wingspan of an aircraft, the apparatus comprising:
a first link extending from a wingtip of the aircraft and moveably coupled to a fixed wing of the aircraft;
a second link extending from the wingtip and moveably coupled to the fixed wing; and
an actuator coupled to the fixed wing and to the second link, the actuator comprising a piston;
wherein the actuator is configured to extend the piston to move the second link and cause the wingtip to move between an extended position in which the wingtip is substantially coplanar with the fixed wing and a stowed position in which the wingtip is substantially coplanar with the fixed wing.