A method of adjusting the drag on a trailing air vehicle (3) flying behind a leading air vehicle (1), the method comprising the steps of: (i) detecting a wingtip vortex (5) shed from the leading air vehicle (1), for example using background oriented schlieren; (ii) determining the position of the wingtip vortex (5) for example using photogrammetry; and (iii) modifying the flight path of the trailing air vehicle (3) in dependence on the determined position. This may enable the trailing air vehicle (3) to efficiently interact with the wingtip vortex (5) and reduce drag.
A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING DRAG ON A TRAILING AIR VEHICLE FLYING BEHIND A LEADING AIR VEHICLE
2017-11-02
Patent
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
IPC: | G05D SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES , Systeme zum Steuern oder Regeln nichtelektrischer veränderlicher Größen / B64C AEROPLANES , Flugzeuge / B64D Ausrüstung für Flugzeuge , EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT / G06T Bilddatenverarbeitung oder Bilddatenerzeugung allgemein , IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL |
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