An aircraft includes a landing gear having a shock strut, an outer sleeve at least partially surrounding the shock strut, and a shrink mechanism coupled to both the outer sleeve and the shock strut, where the shrink mechanism moves the shock strut relative to the outer sleeve. The shrink mechanism includes a shaft rotatably coupled to the outer sleeve, an anchor arm coupled to the shaft, a shrink arm coupled to the shaft, the shrink arm and the anchor arm being coupled to the shaft so as to rotate as a unit with the shaft about a shaft rotation axis, relative to the outer sleeve, at least 180° when the anchor arm is coupled to the structure within the wing of the aircraft, and a shrink link rotatably coupled to the shrink arm, the shrink link being configured to rotatably couple to the shock strut.

A method of determining the position of one or more components of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft is disclosed including scanning the one or more components with a lidar system to generate a set of position data points, each position data point comprising a set of three orthogonal position values. The position data points are partitioned into one or more clusters using a distance metric. Each cluster is determined to represent a component of the landing gear assembly. The position of the components are then determined from the position data points in the clusters. The value of the distance metric for a first position data point and a second position data point is representative of the difference between a first position value of the three orthogonal position values of the first position data point and the corresponding first position value of the three orthogonal position values of the second position data point.

A method of determining the position of one or more components of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft is disclosed including scanning the one or more components with a lidar system to generate a set of position data points, each position data point comprising a set of three orthogonal position values. The position data points are partitioned into one or more clusters using a distance metric. Each cluster is determined to represent a component of the landing gear assembly. The position of the components are then determined from the position data points in the clusters. The value of the distance metric for a first position data point and a second position data point is representative of the difference between a first position value of the three orthogonal position values of the first position data point and the corresponding first position value of the three orthogonal position values of the second position data point.

A method of determining the steering angle of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft is disclosed including scanning the landing gear assembly with a lidar system to generate a set of three-dimensional position data points, each position data point including a set of three orthogonal position values. A two-dimensional image from the set of three-dimensional position data points, by converting a position value of each of the three-dimensional position data points to an image property value of a set of image property values. A boundary of an area of the two-dimensional image of which each position data point has the same image property value is identified, where the area corresponds to a component of the landing gear assembly. The steering angle of the landing gear assembly is then determined from the shape and/or orientation of the identified boundary.

A method of determining the steering angle of a landing gear assembly of an aircraft is disclosed including scanning the landing gear assembly with a lidar system to generate a set of three-dimensional position data points, each position data point including a set of three orthogonal position values. A two-dimensional image from the set of three-dimensional position data points, by converting a position value of each of the three-dimensional position data points to an image property value of a set of image property values. A boundary of an area of the two-dimensional image of which each position data point has the same image property value is identified, where the area corresponds to a component of the landing gear assembly. The steering angle of the landing gear assembly is then determined from the shape and/or orientation of the identified boundary.

A variable length stay for an aircraft landing gear is disclosed having first and second sets of struts lying on different longitudinal axes that enable the stay to extend and contract by movement of the struts parallel to their axes. The stay may be locked in its extended and retracted configurations thus providing downlock and uplock functions for the landing gear. The struts of the stay may have an open and easy to inspect structure, have low friction kinematics, and do not need to telescope within each other or lie on a single common axis.

A control system for an aircraft, the system including a pilot input device configured to receive a pilot input, a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of sensors positioned on a corresponding landing gear of the aircraft and configured to sense a parameter on the corresponding landing gear, and a controller in communication with the plurality of sensors, the controller configured to calculate an output command based on the pilot input and the sensed parameters of the landing gear, the output command including instructions for controlling a rotor of the aircraft.

A control system for an aircraft, the system including a pilot input device configured to receive a pilot input, a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of sensors positioned on a corresponding landing gear of the aircraft and configured to sense a parameter on the corresponding landing gear, and a controller in communication with the plurality of sensors, the controller configured to calculate an output command based on the pilot input and the sensed parameters of the landing gear, the output command including instructions for controlling a rotor of the aircraft.

An aircraft is provided. The aircraft includes a ducted wing portion and a fan chamber. The fan chamber is attached to a bottom of the ducted wing portion. A fan assembly is provided in the fan chamber and is operative to blow air through the ducted wing portion. The ducted wing portion is configured to direct air blown by the fan assembly down to provide lift for the aircraft.

An aircraft is described with both VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) capabilities and convention airplane capabilities. A preferred embodiment comprises a fuselage and fixed wing, with one boom on either side of the fuselage. Each boom comprises a tilt rotor on a fore end and a fixed rotor on the aft end. Both rotors can be directed vertically for VTOL capability. During cruise the tilt rotors can be directed forward for thrust and the fixed rotors can be stopped and directed along the boom axis, minimizing drag. The described embodiments have advantages in weight savings and maneuverability compared to other VTOL aircraft.