Inflatable Wings
Vertigo's inflatable wing technology was used in the Gun Launched Observation Vehicle (GLOV). An air vehicle that
is intended to be capable of launch from Naval ship guns. The vehicle is designed
to carry sensors and communications gear, and will be used for fire control
and damage assesment.
Vertigo Inc. developed and manufactured an inflatable
wing set to be used with the GLOV. An inflatable wing is desireable because
it can be packed into small space, is light weight, and can handle the stress
of a high g-force gun launch.
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GLOV with wings packed
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GLOV with wings inflated
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Wing set in fabrication fixture
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INFLATABLE WING
The wing consists of foam wrapped over
inflatable spars and covered with cloth. The spars are inflated through
a common manifold.
The structural integrity of the wing
comes from the series of inflatable spars in the wing.These spars are made
of a flexible composite. The composite consists of a urethane gas barrier
wrapped with a high strength fiber braid in a thermoplastic adhesive matrix.
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Wing set testing
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The wing spars are made in several different
diameters (the largest being around 3/4") to give the airfoil shape
to the wing. The wing spars are covered with open cell foam and a nylon
fabric shell to form the smooth wing surfaces. The working pressure of the
wing spars is 300 psi which makes them very rigid. There are spar caps on
the top and the bottom of the wing spars which give even more g-loading capability.
WING DEPLOYMENT
The GLOV wings were tested by inflating
from the packed state to 145 psi while the test platform was traveling at
67 knots. The entire deployment took less than 1 second.
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GLOV Wing Deployment video clip 320x240 (900 KB)
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Wing deployment sequence
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Large Inflatable Wings
The Extended Range Aerial Delivery
System (ERADS) project is a sub scale Science and Technology demonstrator,
which uses
advanced airbeam technology to form the structural elements of
an aircraft. This structure will be inflated while in descent under a parachute,
released from the parachute after full inflation and flown to a normal aircraft
type landing.
The full scale version of the aircraft
is intended to deliver payloads of up to 12,000 pounds from high altitudes
at distances as much as 40 miles from the intended target. It will be deployed
from the cargo ramp of a C-130 / C-17 / C-5 type aircraft and inflated under
a parachute similar to the method intended for the subscale version.
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Construction of Sub Scale Model
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Wing Assembly Before Skin
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Wing Near Completion
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ERADS in flight
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After inflation the aircraft will use
an autonomous guidance system to bring it to a landing at its intended target.
Payloads could include Humvee personnel vehicles, light artillery pieces,
as well as blood plasma, food, water, and other logistical items.
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