An aircraft with a system for estimating the parameters of an impact. The aircraft includes a skin forming an outer surface of the aircraft, the aircraft equipped with a system for estimating the parameters of an impact including an array of sensors attached to the skin and a central processing unit connected to the array, the array of sensors including a first set of sensors providing data relating to elastic waves, the central processing unit configured for assessing the parameters of an impact from the data of the sensor array and a response model of the skin to external excitations calculated from the modal properties of the skin.

A vehicle controllable by an autonomous mode and an alternate mode is provided. The vehicle includes a body, one or more lights positioned on the body of the vehicle; and a processor. The processor is operable to be in signal communication with the one or more lights and the vehicle. The processor is configured to: receive an initial signal that the vehicle is being controlled by the autonomous mode or the alternate mode; actuate, when the vehicle is in the autonomous mode, one or more lights positioned on the vehicle to a first state; and actuate, when the vehicle is in the alternate mode, the one or more lights to a second state.

A tail skid shock absorber including an outer shock absorber canister, a crushable indicator cartridge disposed within the outer shock absorber canister, and an indicator rod coupled to the crushable indicator cartridge so as to move with a portion of the crushable indicator cartridge as a unit.

Methods and apparatus are provided for generating a runway landing alert for an aircraft. The method comprises establishing a Runway Awareness Advisory System (RAAS) envelope for the designated target runway of the aircraft. A track of the aircraft is monitored with reference to a centerline of the target runway. Any deviation by the aircraft from the centerline of the target runway is detected and determined if it is within a margin of error. If the deviation is within the margin of error, an altitude parameter of the RAAS envelope is increased. If the aircraft is determined to still be maneuvering with respect to the centerline of the target runway, the altitude parameter of the RAAS envelope is decreased. Otherwise, an alert is generated if the aircraft is outside of the RAAS envelope.

A method for providing operational awareness data onboard an aircraft, by a computing device comprising at least a processor and a system memory element, is provided. The method continuously identifies deviations from operational goals of the aircraft, by the processor, based on a current state of the aircraft, a predicted state of the aircraft, and flight crew perception of the current state and the predicted state; and autonomously initiates a dialogue with flight crew onboard the aircraft by providing voice-data prompts for user action onboard the aircraft, by the processor onboard the aircraft, based on the deviations.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a system and a method for determining a landing status of the UAV are provided. The UAV system includes a UAV, a landing surface and a processing unit. The UAV has a landing gear furnished with a plurality of sensors. The landing surface is provided for the UAV to land thereon. The processing unit, coupled electrically with the plurality of sensors, is to determine, while the UAV is landing towards the landing surface, either whether or not a number of the plurality of sensors that have touched the landing surface at least once within a touch-judging time is not less than a predetermined touch-judging number, or whether or not a number of the plurality of sensors that contact the landing surface synchronously within a land-judging time is not less than a predetermined land-judging number.

Provided are embodiments including a method, system and computer program product for collecting aircraft performance data using smart applications. Some embodiments include receiving sensor data from one or more sensors of one or more user devices associated with an aircraft, and detecting an aircraft event of the aircraft based at least in part on the sensor data. Embodiments can also include analyzing performance of the aircraft by comparing the sensor data with historical data for the aircraft event responsive to detecting the aircraft event, and mapping the performance of the aircraft to the received sensor data.

A tail skid shock absorber including an outer shock absorber canister, a crushable indicator cartridge disposed within the outer shock absorber canister, and an indicator rod coupled to the crushable indicator cartridge so as to move with a portion of the crushable indicator cartridge as a unit.

A hard landing indicator mountable to a landing gear of an aircraft is provided. The landing gear has components displaceable toward each other upon the aircraft experiencing a landing. The hard landing indicator includes a first portion securable to one of these components and a second portion that projects outwardly from the first portion and oriented toward another component of the landing gear to be positioned within a path of displacement of the second component toward the first component. The second portion is impacted by this component upon this component being displaced during a hard landing of the aircraft. The impact leaves a visual mark on the second portion of the hard landing indicator to indicate that a hard landing has occurred. A landing gear equipped with and a method of installing such indicator are also provided.

A control device includes a memory storing a program and a processor configured to execute the program to restrict movement of a movable body in response to detecting that a mounting state of a detachable lens assembly at a photographing device of the movable body does not satisfy a pre-set condition.