Collapsible wing and unmanned aircraft systems including collapsible wing

摘要

A collapsible wing, methods of producing the collapsible wing, and an unmanned aircraft system that includes the collapsible wing are provided.

主权项

1. A collapsible wing for an unmanned aircraft system, the wing comprising at least two monocoque wing sections comprising a wing root section, a wing span section, a wing tip section, and a wing tip end plate or a winglet attached to the wing tip section, wherein:
the wing is configured to deploy between a collapsed configuration and an extended configuration; the wing span section nests within a lumen of the wing root section and the wing tip section nests within a lumen of the wing span section in the collapsed configuration; at least a portion of the wing span section protrudes from within the lumen of the wing root section and at least a portion of the wing tip section protrudes from within the lumen of the wing span section in the extended configuration; and the wing tip section further comprises a connector and the wing tip end plate or the winglet further comprises a mating connector, wherein:
the wing tip end plate or the winglet is removed from the wing tip section when the wing is in the collapsed configuration; andthe wing tip end plate or the winglet is attached to the wing tip section by mating the connector and the mating connector when the wing is in the extended configuration.