A method of operating an aircraft is disclosing including, during a non-braking time period, taxiing the aircraft by using driving torque provided by a landing gear drive system, and not providing a braking torque from the landing gear brake system, and, during a braking time period, providing the brake command device at one or more command levels within a sub-range of a brake command range, and controlling the landing gear drive system, in response to the level of the brake command device, to reduce the driving torque provided.

Aircraft power system is disclosed having a hydraulic reservoir, a bi-directional hydraulic pump for pumping hydraulic fluid to and from the reservoir, and an electric motor. The electric motor is connectable to a first driveable component of the aircraft such that the electric motor is arranged to drive the first driveable component of the aircraft. The hydraulic pump is connectable to the first driveable component of the aircraft such that the hydraulic pump is arranged to pump hydraulic fluid from the reservoir to drive the first driveable component of an aircraft. Thus, in a first driveable mode of operation, the first driveable component is driven by both the electric motor and the hydraulic pump.

A public transportation system combines a unique combination of components that includes interoperable electric-powered vehicles, facilities, hardware and software having specifications, standards, processes, capabilities, nomenclature, and concepts of operations that together include a concerted, comprehensive, multi-modal, future system for moving people and goods that is herein named Quiet Urban Air Delivery (QUAD) and in which uniquely-capable, ultra-quiet, one to six-seat, electrically-powered, autonomous aircraft (SkyQarts) fly sub-193 kilometer trips on precise trajectories with negligible control latency and perform extremely short take-offs and landings (ESTOL) with curved traffic patterns at a highly-distributed network of very small, airports (“SkyNests”) that themselves have standardized compatible facilities that interoperate with SkyQarts as well as with versatile, autonomous electric-powered payload carts (EPCs) and robotic delivery carts (RDCs) to provide safe, fast, on-demand, community-acceptable, environmentally friendly, high-capacity, affordable door-to-door delivery of both passengers and cargo across urban, suburban and rural settings across the globe.

A retainer for a segmented annular heat shield of a wheel includes a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a body extending between the first end and the second end. Both the first end and the second end are configured to be coupled to at least one of the wheel and a torque bar. Further, the body includes opposing longitudinal sides configured to respectively engage and secure a respective heat shield segment of the segmented annular heat shield. Also, the retainer includes a cover coupled to and extending over at least the body, with an air gap being defined between the body and the cover.

A force limiting system and method are provided for limiting loads in aircraft nose or main landing gear having wheels powered by taxi drive systems mounted within the landing gear wheels to drive aircraft on the ground. The force limiting system may include mechanical components selected to limit or minimize spin-up mass and to releasably connect the taxi drive system to a landing gear wheel section so that operation of the taxi drive system to drive a landing gear wheel is prevented in the presence of a predetermined maximum load. The load limiting system employs mechanical components engineered to securely connect the taxi drive system to the landing gear wheel during operation and to release the taxi drive system from connection to the wheel when loads applied to system components exceed an established or recommended maximum load.

A convertible ducted fan engine having a shroud, a drive shaft connected to a mechanical fan, and a rotational drive motor configured to rotate the mechanical fan. An embodiment includes a linear drive motor configured to translate the drive shaft and mechanical fan in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the shroud. The convertible ducted fan engine includes a fluid-propulsion configuration in which the mechanical fan rotates freely with respect to the shroud to produce thrust through fluid flow, and a drive-wheel configuration in which the shroud rotates about the rotational axis.

The invention relates to a method for controlling the torque of a drive device (1) for rotating wheels (2) of an aircraft comprising actuators for selectively driving rotating wheels of the aircraft to ensure its movement on the ground, comprising the step of regulating a torque generated by the drive device according to a torque setpoint (4) issued by the pilot. According to the invention, the method involves the step of generating, as long as the torque setpoint is not sufficient to guarantee a stable movement speed of the aircraft, a replacement torque setpoint (5) to allow the aircraft to move at a stable speed, and substituting the replacement torque setpoint for the torque setpoint generated by the pilot.

A system and method are provided that direct a real time global view with images of an aircraft's entire exterior environment from an external monitoring system located on an aircraft equipped with landing gear wheel-mounted electric taxi drive systems powering ground travel to an integrated head-up display worn by a pilot driving the aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems within an airport ramp area. The real time global view and images produced by the monitoring system are communicated to the integrated head-up display in the form of an actual picture of the ramp area environment exterior to the aircraft viewable by the pilot with the head-up display in real time as the pilot maneuvers the aircraft within the ramp area with the electric taxi systems. The pilot can change the images viewed in the head-up display by changing head position.

A system and method are provided that monitors ground level ambient air in an airport ground environment while aircraft equipped with electric taxi drive systems and ground level visual monitoring assemblies are driven with the electric taxi drive systems during ground travel. Monitoring assemblies with detection elements having configurations similar to pitot tubes modified with a sensor array are provided to generate data about components in the ground level ambient air identified to adversely affect aircraft engine health. The detection elements may be cooperatively mounted with the ground level visual monitoring assemblies. Ambient air flow is directed into the detection elements to contact the sensor array during electric taxi drive system-powered ground travel. Real time data related to the identified components generated by the sensor array is processed and analyzed, engine health is monitored, and a predictive scheduled of engine maintenance may be developed from the analyzed real time data.

Disclosed is a self-taxiing apparatus for an aircraft, the self-taxiing apparatus including an aircraft support body configured to support a body of an aircraft in a state in which the body of the aircraft is spaced apart from a ground surface, the aircraft support body having a motor mounting unit provided at a lower end thereof, an electric motor mounted in the motor mounting unit, a cover fixedly coupled to the motor mounting unit and configured to protect the electric motor, and an aircraft wheel configured to roll in a state of being in contact with the ground surface.