Disclosed are embodiments of a rotary-wing drone that includes a drone body, linking arms that extend from the drone body with a propulsion unit located on a distal end of the linking arms, and at least two drone supports extending from the drone body. The drone supports may include a lifting means so that the drone supports are able to be lifted when the drone flies, where the drone supports come into alignment with the linking arms. The drone supports may form the leading edge of the rear linking arms and/or the trailing edge of the front linking arms of the drone.

A mechanical lock for a vehicle assembly such as an aircraft landing gear assembly. The lock is either pivotally mounted and substantially mass balanced, or part of an aircraft landing gear assembly and arranged to be mechanically operated from the ground by a mechanical actuation device.

A mechanical lock for a vehicle assembly such as an aircraft landing gear assembly. The lock is either pivotally mounted and substantially mass balanced, or part of an aircraft landing gear assembly and arranged to be mechanically operated from the ground by a mechanical actuation device.

The invention provides a method of moving an aircraft undercarriage comprising a leg (1) that is movable between a deployed position and a retracted position in which the leg is held stationary by means of a strut (2) held in an aligned position by a stabilizer member (4), the method including using a drive actuator (10) for raising the undercarriage from the deployed position to the retracted position. According to the invention, the actuator is coupled firstly to the leg and secondly to the stabilizer member in such a manner that on being activated the actuator begins by causing the stabilizer member to unlock and then moves the undercarriage leg towards the retracted position.

The invention provides a method of moving an aircraft undercarriage comprising a leg (1) that is movable between a deployed position and a retracted position in which the leg is held stationary by means of a strut (2) held in an aligned position by a stabilizer member (4), the method including using a drive actuator (10) for raising the undercarriage from the deployed position to the retracted position. According to the invention, the actuator is coupled firstly to the leg and secondly to the stabilizer member in such a manner that on being activated the actuator begins by causing the stabilizer member to unlock and then moves the undercarriage leg towards the retracted position.

The present disclosure relates to unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”), systems, and methods for efficiently and safely landing while improving flight performance. In particular, the disclosure incudes a light-weight, gravity-fed, self-deploying landing gear assembly that aligns to the direction of the runway upon landing. For example, the landing gear assembly can include a pin switch and a tear-through barrier that releases and deploys the landing gear assembly. Additionally, the landing gear assembly can include castering wheels that rotate (i.e., swivel) while the UAV is in flight. Furthermore, the landing gear assembly can include friction-disks to reduce the rotation of the castering wheels when the landing gear assembly contacts the ground and receives the weight of the UAV. Moreover, the landing gear assembly can detect that the UAV has landed and can signal the UAV to initiate a roll stop mechanism.

The present disclosure relates to unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”), systems, and methods for efficiently and safely landing while improving flight performance. In particular, the disclosure incudes a light-weight, gravity-fed, self-deploying landing gear assembly that aligns to the direction of the runway upon landing. For example, the landing gear assembly can include a pin switch and a tear-through barrier that releases and deploys the landing gear assembly. Additionally, the landing gear assembly can include castering wheels that rotate (i.e., swivel) while the UAV is in flight. Furthermore, the landing gear assembly can include friction-disks to reduce the rotation of the castering wheels when the landing gear assembly contacts the ground and receives the weight of the UAV. Moreover, the landing gear assembly can detect that the UAV has landed and can signal the UAV to initiate a roll stop mechanism.

A retractable landing gear assembly for an aircraft includes a leg mounted to airframe structure for rotation about a pivot axis. A stay assembly is provided for maintaining the landing gear assembly in a deployed, for example down and unlocked, configuration. The stay assembly has a linkage mechanism including a first stay and a second stay movable between a folded state and an unfolded state. Room that would otherwise be occupied within a landing gear bay may be freed up above the landing gear leg when in a stowed configuration by the stay assembly being unfolded but generally aligned with the length of the landing gear leg, with the stay assembly being mostly positioned beneath the leg.

A retractable landing gear assembly for an aircraft includes a leg mounted to airframe structure for rotation about a pivot axis. A stay assembly is provided for maintaining the landing gear assembly in a deployed, for example down and unlocked, configuration. The stay assembly has a linkage mechanism including a first stay and a second stay movable between a folded state and an unfolded state. Room that would otherwise be occupied within a landing gear bay may be freed up above the landing gear leg when in a stowed configuration by the stay assembly being unfolded but generally aligned with the length of the landing gear leg, with the stay assembly being mostly positioned beneath the leg.

A landing gear includes a fixing mechanism, a driving mechanism disposed on the fixing mechanism, a translating member connected to the driving mechanism and configured to move relative to the fix mechanism whey being driven by the driving mechanism, and two supporting feet disposed opposite to each other. The two supporting feet are pivotally connected to the fixing mechanism and movably connected at two ends of the translating member. The driving mechanism is configured to drive the two supporting feet through the translating member to rotate relative to the fixing mechanism.