An aerodynamic structure for an aircraft including a first region having a first magnetic sealing surface, movably connected to a second region having a second magnetic sealing surface. The structure is moveable between a first configuration in which the first sealing surface contacts the second sealing surface such that the first region and the second region form a continuous aerodynamic surface, and a second configuration in which a gap exists between the first and second magnetic sealing surfaces and. The magnetic sealing surfaces are configured such that an attractive magnetic force exists between the magnetic sealing surfaces in the first configuration. The aerodynamic structure is configured such that during movement between the first and second configurations, relative movement of the first and second regions occurs along a direction at an angle in the range 1-90 to the normal of the first sealing surface and/or the second sealing surface.

Embodiments are directed to systems and methods for deploying an outboard rotor blade of proprotor pylon to act as an extended lifting surface. Blade control actuators may provide primary rotor flight control as well as providing fold linkage actuation when fold locks are disengaged. During cruise flight, the blade control actuator may provide feathering inputs to the extended rotor blade, wherein the amplitude and frequency of feathering inputs are tuned to mitigate undesirable wing and fuselage dynamic modes thereby enhancing aircraft stability. The deployed rotor blades also improve the total lifting area of the aircraft, which may increase aircraft range and efficiency.

An aircraft includes a fuselage coupled to a wing having a root section and first and second outboard sections each having first and second wing layers pivotably coupled to respective outboard ends of the root section. A thrust array is coupled to the wing. A power system is operably associated with the thrust array to provide power to each of a plurality of propulsion assemblies. A flight control system is operably associated with the thrust array and the wing. The flight control system is operable to control the thrust output from the propulsion assemblies and the configuration of the wing. In a thrust-borne vertical lift mode, the wing has a split wing configuration such that the thrust array forms a two dimensional thrust array. In the wing-borne forward flight mode, the wing has a monoplane configuration such that the thrust array forms a one dimensional thrust array.

A method to detect a failure of a sensor or system in an aircraft, wherein the aircraft includes a wing including a fixed wing and a wing tip device pivotably mounted to the fixed wing, a sensor system, and a control unit including a system behavior model which models a target vale of an operation parameter of the wing, wherein the method includes: detecting a value of an operation parameter by the sensor system; comparing the detected value of the operation parameter to a corresponding target value of the operation parameter obtained from the system behavior model, and declaring a sensor failure or a system failure in response to determining a predefined deviation of the detected value from the corresponding target value of the operation parameter, detecting a sensor failure or a system failure.

An aircraft includes a fuselage coupled to a wing having a dihedral root section with first and second outboard sections pivotably coupled to respective outboard ends thereof. A thrust array is coupled to the wing. A power system is operably associated with the thrust array to provide power to each of a plurality of propulsion assemblies. A flight control system is operably associated with the thrust array and the wing. The flight control system is operable to control the thrust output from the propulsion assemblies and the configuration of the wing. In a thrust-borne vertical lift mode, the wing has an M-wing configuration with the center of gravity of the aircraft located between the outboard sections of the wing. In a wing-borne forward flight mode, the wing has a gull wing configuration with the center of gravity of the aircraft located below the outboard sections of the wing.

The retractable flap provides a methodology in reducing drag on multiple types of vehicles and objects. These flaps are utilized the same way as any other flap such as the elevator, rudder, or aileron when it comes to trajectory control or steering. The retractable flap deflects from the body of the vehicle or object and returns back to its original position which is uniform to the body. The retractability of the flap allows the vehicle or object to be more streamlined.

The retractable flap provides a methodology in reducing drag on multiple types of vehicles and objects. These flaps are utilized the same way as any other flap such as the elevator, rudder, or aileron when it comes to trajectory control or steering. The retractable flap deflects from the body of the vehicle or object and returns back to its original position which is uniform to the body. The retractability of the flap allows the vehicle or object to be more streamlined.

An aircraft wing having a fixed wing and a wing tip device at the tip of the fixed wing is disclosed. The wing tip device being movable relative to the fixed wing between flight and ground configurations, the aircraft wing having a locking mechanism including a locking bore and a locking pin, the locking mechanism being configurable between a locked configuration, in which the locking pin is received in the locking bore, to lock the wing tip device in one of the flight or ground configurations, and an unlocked configuration in which the locking pin is withdrawn from the locking bore such that the wing tip device is moveable relative to the fixed wing, and wherein the locking pin is configured such that it has a replaceable tip.

Foldable raked wing tips having aerodynamic devices are disclosed. A disclosed example wing for use with an aircraft includes a fixed portion, and a folding portion proximate a distal end of the wing. The folding portion includes a raked surface. The wing also includes at least one of a feather or a winglet, and a hinge operatively coupled between the fixed and folding portions to enable the folding portion to fold relative to the fixed portion.

A shape-morphing ultralight structure using materials that dramatically increase the efficiency of load-bearing aerostructures that includes a programmable material system applied as a large-scale, ultralight, and conformable (shape-morphing) aeroelastic structure. The use of a modular, lattice-based, ultralight material results in stiffness and density typical of an elastomer. This, combined with a building block-based manufacturing and configuration strategy, enables the rapid realization of new adaptive structures and mechanisms. The heterogeneous design with programmable anisotropy allows for enhanced elastic and global shape deformation in response to external loading, making it useful for tuned fluid-structure interaction. The present invention demonstrates an example application experiment using two building block types for the primary structure of a 4.27 m wingspan aircraft with spatially programed elastic shape morphing to increase aerodynamic efficiency.