A flight control method for controlling an aircraft includes obtaining wind information of an operation region during a spread operation performed by the aircraft. The flight control method also includes controlling a flight location of the aircraft based on the wind information and an allowable deviation of the spread region in the spread operation.

A system and method for determining the wind force along the planned trajectory of a projectile are disclosed herein. A drone is flown along the expected path of the trajectory along a set heading. The drone is programmed to maintain the heading. As wind forces act upon the drone during its flight, the drone's electronic stability system provides automatic power and directional control to one or more motors that control the rotors and propellers that keep the drone aloft. By monitoring the changes in motor or drone state information over time in response to wind forces, the wind can be determined at various locations along the flight path. This information can be provided to a ballistics calculator to determine the launch heading of the projectile.

A system and method for determining the wind force along the planned trajectory of a projectile are disclosed herein. A drone is flown along the expected path of the trajectory along a set heading. The drone is programmed to maintain the heading. As wind forces act upon the drone during its flight, the drone's electronic stability system provides automatic power and directional control to one or more motors that control the rotors and propellers that keep the drone aloft. By monitoring the changes in motor or drone state information over time in response to wind forces, the wind can be determined at various locations along the flight path. This information can be provided to a ballistics calculator to determine the launch heading of the projectile.

An aircraft is provide including an airframe, an extending tail, and a counter rotating, coaxial main rotor assembly including an upper rotor assembly and a lower rotor assembly. A translational thrust system positioned at the extending tail, the translational thrust system providing translational thrust to the airframe. At least one flight control computer configured to independently control the upper rotor assembly and the lower rotor assembly through a fly-by-wire control system. A plurality of sensors to detect sensor data of at least one environmental condition and at least one aircraft state data, wherein the sensors provide the sensor data to the flight control computer.

This data processing device is provided with: an acceleration acquisition unit that acquires the acceleration of a moving body equipped with a mechanism for generating a propulsion force and equipped with a measuring instrument for measuring the strength of at least a one-direction component of the wind to which the moving body is exposed; a wind information acquisition unit that acquires wind information indicating the blowing direction of the wind and the strength of the wind, both of which are identified from the values measured by the measuring instrument; an external force estimation unit that estimates, on the basis of the acceleration and the direction and magnitude of the propulsion force, the magnitude of an external force exerted by the wind on the moving body; and a generation unit that generates relational information indicating the relation between the wind strength and the estimated magnitude of the external force.

The present disclosure is directed to a method for controlling rotors of a rotorcraft system comprising the steps of: receiving air velocity data, first and second rotors rotational angular velocity data, external air temperature data and rotorcraft altitude data by the control module; calculating air velocity over the plurality of blades based on the received data using the control module; calculating, based on the calculated air velocity, if one or more retreating blades of one of the first and second counterrotating rotors are generating insufficient lift; and sending one or more actuation signals from the control module to the electric motor and/or actuators of the other of the first and second counterrotating rotors to maintain a predetermined amount of lift.

Systems, devices, and methods including: at least one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); at least one flight control computer (FCC) associated with each UAV, where the FCC controls movement of each UAV; at least one computing device associated with a ground control station; where the at least one FCC maintains a first flight pattern of a respective UAV of the at least one UAV above the ground control station; where the at least one computing device is configured to transmit a transition signal to the at least one FCC to transition the respective UAV of the at least one UAV from the first flight pattern to a second flight pattern in response to a wind speed exceeding a set threshold relative to a flight speed of the respective UAV of the at least one UAV.

Systems and methods for determining a vehicle elevation height for launching an unmanned aerial vehicle may include performing a quantitative balancing analysis using baseline factors, establishing optimal values for operational goals of a vehicle based on the quantitative balancing analysis, determining a vehicle elevation height that achieves the established optimal values for the operational goals of the vehicle by evaluating vehicle delivery parameters using normalized values, and initiating on a winch system elevation of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the determined vehicle elevation height for launching.

An unmanned aerial vehicle control method and apparatus are provided. The method includes: obtaining, in real time, the motion status information of an unmanned aerial vehicle moving under the effect of a user-applied external force (100); generating at least one unmanned aerial vehicle control instruction based on the motion status information (110) and controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a corresponding flight action according to the at least one unmanned aerial vehicle control instruction (120). After an unmanned aerial vehicle moves under the effect of a user-applied external force, the control method further controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a corresponding flight action according to the current motion tendency of the unmanned aerial vehicle, thus freeing the user from mastering a complicated unmanned aerial vehicle control technology, reducing the difficulty of the control over the unmanned aerial vehicle and making the unmanned aerial vehicle more applicable.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the airborne dissemination and implantation of seeds utilizing an aerodynamic seed delivery apparatus with built-in nutrients, anti-pest, and anti-fungal properties that can be disseminated rapidly from an airborne platform. The velocity of impact and depth of penetration into specific soil types by the delivery apparatus can be controlled up to a terminal velocity kinetic energy by exploiting a specified drag coefficient, mass, and altitude of release. The seeds are delivered and imbedded into the soil at the optimal depth and orientation to maximize germination rates, since seed orientation has a pronounced effect on germination and sprout mortality rates. Flight paths for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) utilized for dissemination can be automated to adjust coordinates based on wind vectors, terrain elevation data, and soil permeability data to efficiently achieve a desired penetration depth across a specified geographic area.