An oblique wing aircraft designed for reduced surface area to volume ratio. The aircraft has an oblique wing comprising a forward swept wing segment and an aft swept wing segment. A center oblique airfoil section connects the forward and aft swept wing segments. The center oblique airfoil section has a larger chord near its centerline than the chords of either of the forward or aft swept wing segments. The chord of the center oblique airfoil section tapers down more rapidly than the forward or aft wing segments as the center oblique airfoil section extends outboard toward the forward and aft swept wings. Preferably, the aircraft is an all-wing aircraft.

A radio-controlled (RC) aircraft has a wing lock and disconnect mechanism. The RC aircraft has a structural member and a wing that disconnects from a fuselage. The RC aircraft has a lock mechanism, a wing structural member recess, a fuselage structural member recess, a lock recess, and an aperture. The lock mechanism couples to the wing and is adapted to fit within the lock recess of the fuselage. The wing structural member receives the structural member. The fuselage structural members recess corresponds to the wing structural member recess. The lock recess receives the lock mechanism. The wing disconnects from the fuselage by unlocking the lock mechanism. The structural member fits within the wing structural member recess and the fuselage structural member recess.

The present invention is a double wing aircraft with two fixed wings embodied as either a flying wing configuration or a double wing configuration having a fuselage with smaller external dimensions, larger airlifting area, thinner airfoils, and lighter airframe relative to prior art that altogether is resulting with lower drag, fuel consumption, harmful emissions, and noise, as well as higher speed and flight safety, longer range, and shorter runway when compared to prior art.

The present invention is a double wing aircraft with two fixed wings embodied as either a flying wing configuration or a double wing configuration having a fuselage with smaller external dimensions, larger airlifting area, thinner airfoils, and lighter airframe relative to prior art that altogether is resulting with lower drag, fuel consumption, harmful emissions, and noise, as well as higher speed and flight safety, longer range, and shorter runway when compared to prior art.

In order to simplify the connection of a door to the outer envelope of an aircraft cell, it is provided to dispose the door into a portion of the outer envelope having tilted sides, as is the case at the nose cones and the tail cones of conventional airplanes, and in various portions of blended wing body airplanes and flying wings. Thus, the door can be configured to displace, in rectilinear translation, from one of its extreme opening and closing positions to the other, without requiring that the door protrudes outside of the outer envelope in the closing position.

An apparatus and method for aerial recovery of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are provided. The apparatus includes a rigid base having a first section and a second section, wherein the first section is securely mounted to a floor of an aircraft. The apparatus further includes a servicing platform moveably mounted to the base and configured to move along a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the aircraft such that in an extended position, the servicing platform at least partially protrudes from a rear cargo door of the aircraft, wherein the servicing platform comprises a capturing mechanism configured to capture the UAV in the extended position.

Methods and systems for venting a fuel tank includes a fuel tank on a blended wing body aircraft. A fuel tank may include a vent. A vent line is connected to the vent. The vent line is heated. The vent line is attached to an external fuel tank configured to store the collected boil-off gaseous fuel from the aircraft fuel tank.

Certain aspects relate to a blended wing body aircraft with a fuel cell and methods of use. An exemplary aircraft includes a blended wing body, at least a propulsor mechanically affixed to the aircraft and configured to propel the aircraft, at least a first fuel store configured to store a first fuel, and at least a fuel cell configured to combine the first fuel with oxygen to produce electricity.

A tandem wing aircraft having a fore wing, an aft wing, and a middle wing, attached relative to the aircraft and each other such that the middle wing provides a substantial portion of the total lift at landing speeds, and a minimal portion of the total lift at cruise speeds. At cruise speeds, induced drag is minimized, permitting higher speeds, greater fuel efficiency, and/or greater payload. Advantageously, the wing loading at cruise speeds is higher providing better passenger comfort while still providing controllability and safety at landing speeds.

Systems and methods for mechanically rotating an aircraft about its center-of-gravity (C.sub.G) are disclosed. The system can enable the rear, or main, landing gear to squat, while the nose landing gear raises to generate a positive angle of attack for the aircraft for takeoff or landing. The system can also enable the nose gear and main gear to return to a relatively level fuselage attitude for ground operations. The system can include one or more hydraulically linked hydraulic cylinders to control the overall height of the nose gear and the main gear. Because the hydraulic cylinders are linked, a change on the length of the nose cylinder generates a proportional, and opposite, change in the length of the main cylinder, and vice-versa. A method and control system for monitoring and controlling the relative positions of the nose gear and main gear is also disclosed.