An aircraft assembly having: a first part; a second part, the second part being movably mounted with respect to the first part; an electro-hydraulic actuator coupled between the second part and a first anchor point, the actuator comprising a cylinder defining a bore and a piston and rod assembly slidably mounted within the bore and an active chamber within which an increase in fluid pressure causes the actuator to change during a first phase between first and second extension states to move the second part relative to the first part. The electro-hydraulic actuator further includes a hydraulic fluid supply circuit comprising a piezo-electric pump operable to supply pressurised fluid to the active chamber to change the actuator between first and second extension states.

An actuator is disclosed including an actuator body mounted for movement over a range of motion, the range of motion including a first part and a second part, the first part being the range of motion extending between an end position and the second part. The actuator includes a motor coupled to the actuator body to move the actuator body in the first direction and a controller configured to control the supply of current to drive the motor. The mechanical resistance to movement of the actuator body in the first direction is higher in the first part of the range of motion than in the second part of the range of motion. The controller is configured such that any additional current supplied to the motor when the actuator body is in the first part of the range of motion is limited thereby causing the speed of the actuator body to reduce as the actuator body approaches the end position.

An actuator is disclosed including an actuator body mounted for movement over a range of motion, the range of motion including a first part and a second part, the first part being the range of motion extending between an end position and the second part. The actuator includes a motor coupled to the actuator body to move the actuator body in the first direction and a controller configured to control the supply of current to drive the motor. The mechanical resistance to movement of the actuator body in the first direction is higher in the first part of the range of motion than in the second part of the range of motion. The controller is configured such that any additional current supplied to the motor when the actuator body is in the first part of the range of motion is limited thereby causing the speed of the actuator body to reduce as the actuator body approaches the end 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.

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 assembly having a first part movable relative to a second part, and a spring coupled to the first and second parts via first and second anchor points. A lost motion assembly is provided to enable one of the anchor points to translate along one of the parts. As such, the spring extends less as the first part moves relative to the second part than it would if each anchor point was fixed to a respective part.

A landing gear assembly having a first part movable relative to a second part, and a spring coupled to the first and second parts via first and second anchor points. A lost motion assembly is provided to enable one of the anchor points to translate along one of the parts. As such, the spring extends less as the first part moves relative to the second part than it would if each anchor point was fixed to a respective part.

An aircraft landing gear assembly comprising a first member coupled to a second member in parallel by a bolt. First and second mechanical fixings are mounted on the bolt and arranged to apply a clamping force to the members. The first member is arranged in use to be loaded and the second member is anchored to react the load. The assembly includes one or more spacers, each spacer defining one or more land regions and one or more voids. Each spacer is provided between the inner axial face of one of the fixings and the flat outer face of the respective member such that the land regions separate the fixing from the member and the voids are positioned such that angular movement of the fixing due to deflection of the bolt causes the radially outermost point on the fixing sidewall to move into one of the voids.

The invention relates to a method for locking a mobile element (101) of an aircraft, such as a hold door or a landing gear, the mobile element being moved between a deployed position and a closed or retracted position by means of an actuator (200) having a sliding stem (3) coupled to the mobile element, the stem being mounted so as to be able to slide in a body (1) of the actuator between an extended position corresponding to the deployed position of the mobile element and a withdrawn position corresponding to the closed or retracted position of the mobile element. The method of the invention comprises the step of positively blocking the sliding stem of the actuator in the withdrawn position.

The invention relates to a method for locking a mobile element (101) of an aircraft, such as a hold door or a landing gear, the mobile element being moved between a deployed position and a closed or retracted position by means of an actuator (200) having a sliding stem (3) coupled to the mobile element, the stem being mounted so as to be able to slide in a body (1) of the actuator between an extended position corresponding to the deployed position of the mobile element and a withdrawn position corresponding to the closed or retracted position of the mobile element. The method of the invention comprises the step of positively blocking the sliding stem of the actuator in the withdrawn position.