A landing platform for an unmanned aerial vehicle, including a plurality of substantially funnel-shaped centering housings configured to cooperate with a corresponding plurality of projections of the aerial vehicle for reaching a predetermined landing position. The platform can include a mechanism for recharging the battery of the aerial vehicle and/or with an arrangement for serial data transfer.

The invention discloses a shepherd unmanned aerial vehicle device comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle rack, a rotor wing device, a power supply device, a shepherd device and an unmanned aerial vehicle control host arranged in the unmanned aerial vehicle rack; said rotor wing device comprises first rotor wing mechanisms and second rotor wing mechanisms which are arranged on the unmanned aerial vehicle rack; the power supply device comprises lithium batteries, wind power generation wheel wing mechanisms and a solar panel; said lithium battery is arranged at the upper end of the unmanned aerial vehicle rack; the shepherd device comprises a power grid mechanism, an infrared scanning mechanism and a camera; by the way of detecting flocks of sheep via the camera and the infrared scanning mechanism on the unmanned aerial vehicle rack, the power grid mechanism reaches the effect of controlling the flocks of sheep within working range.

A tail sitter aircraft includes a fuselage having a forward portion, an aft portion and a longitudinally extending fuselage axis. At least two wings are supported by the forward portion of the fuselage. A distributed propulsion system includes at least one propulsion assembly operably associated with each fixed wing and is operable to provide forward thrust during forward flight and vertical thrust during vertical takeoff, hover and vertical landing. A tailboom assembly extends from the aft portion of the fuselage and includes a plurality of rotatably mounted tail arms having control surfaces and landing members. In a forward flight configuration, the tail arms are radially retracted to reduce tail surface geometry and provide yaw and pitch control with the control surfaces. In a landing configuration, the tail arms are radially extended relative to the fuselage axis to form a stable ground contact base with the landing members.

A tail sitter aircraft includes a fuselage having a forward portion, an aft portion and a longitudinally extending fuselage axis. At least two wings are supported by the forward portion of the fuselage. A distributed propulsion system includes at least one propulsion assembly operably associated with each fixed wing and is operable to provide forward thrust during forward flight and vertical thrust during vertical takeoff, hover and vertical landing. A tailboom assembly extends from the aft portion of the fuselage and includes a plurality of rotatably mounted tail arms having control surfaces and landing members. In a forward flight configuration, the tail arms are radially retracted to reduce tail surface geometry and provide yaw and pitch control with the control surfaces. In a landing configuration, the tail arms are radially extended relative to the fuselage axis to form a stable ground contact base with the landing members.

A heavy-lift UAV frame includes a central frame portion and a pocket area for receiving an avionics package. Top and bottom plates are secured to the central frame portion and include four corner members that extend diagonally outward therefrom. A plurality of boom hinges are interposed between each of the corner members pivot a boom arm between an extended position for flight and a retracted position for storage and transport. Each boom arm and hinge combination includes a complementary dimension to one side of the central frame portion to position a boom arm parallel thereto when in the retracted position. A plurality of landing gear hinges are positioned along the bottom of the frame and transition a plurality of landing gear legs between a ready for flight position and a storage position. In the storage position each of the legs are positioned diagonally beneath the central frame portion.

A propulsion system for an aerial vehicle or toy aerial vehicle includes a bladeless fan drive and a peripheral ground-engagement part. The bladeless fan drive operates in a plane (x′-y′) and is configured for producing thrust. The peripheral ground-engagement part comprises a hubless wheel and a rotatable tire component. The bladeless fan drive is secured within the hubless wheel by two pivot points on opposing sides of the bladeless fan drive, such that the plane of the bladeless fan drive is pivotable about a pivot axis (x′) spanning between the two pivot points, the pivot axis (x′) being orthogonal to a hubless wheel axis (z) of the peripheral ground-engagement part.

An energy absorbing landing system for an aircraft having a fuselage includes landing legs rotatably coupled to the fuselage configured to outwardly rotate when receiving a landing load having a magnitude. The energy absorbing landing system also includes an energy absorption unit coupled to the fuselage and cables coupling the energy absorption unit to the landing legs. The energy absorption unit is configured to selectively apply a resistance to the outward rotation of the landing legs via the cables based on the magnitude of the landing load, thereby absorbing the landing load when the aircraft lands.

Systems and methods for loading a cargo aircraft are described. The system includes at least one rail disposed in an interior cargo bay of a cargo aircraft that extends at an angle relative to an interior bottom contact surface of a forward portion of the interior cargo bay, through a kinked portion and an aft portion of the interior cargo bay. Payload-receiving fixtures are described that can be used in conjunction with the rail system, allowing for large cargo, such as wind turbine blades, to be transported by aircraft. Methods of loading a cargo aircraft can include advancing the large payload into the interior cargo bay of the aircraft such that at least one of the payload-receiving fixtures rises relative to a plane defined by the interior bottom contact surface of the forward portion of the interior cargo bay. Various systems, methods, components, and related tooling are also provided.

An aircraft is presented. The aircraft comprises a tow point positioned on a body of the aircraft and forward of main landing gear of the aircraft, wherein the tow point is connected to an airframe of the aircraft to accept and distribute forces forward, aft, and normal to the aircraft.

Various embodiments of systems, apparatus, and/or methods are described for enhanced responsiveness in responding to an emergency situation using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Drones are fully autonomous in that they are operated without human intervention from a pilot, an operator, or other personnel. The disclosed drone utilizes movable access doors to provide the capability of vertically takeoff and landing. The drone also includes an emergency recovery system including a mechanism to deploy a parachute in an event of a failure of the on-board autopilot. Also disclosed herein is a drone port that provides an IR-based docking mechanism for precision landing of the drone, with a very low margin of error. Additionally, the drone port includes pads that provide automatic charge to the drone's batteries by contact-based charging via the drone's landing gear legs.