An instrument for displaying pitch-and-roll attitude of an aircraft. A two-degree-of-freedom vertical gyroscope is suspended within a frame or housing, and is connected to an attitude indicator which moves in the same manner with respect to the frame and aircraft instrument panel as the aircraft moves in pitch and roll with respect to the earth. A novel linkage between the gyroscope and indicator transmits both pitch-and-roll position information over a single path to minimize the number of moving parts in the instrument, thereby reducing friction and other errors which affect accuracy and reliability of the attitude display.
An aircraft instrument providing a head-up attitude display. The instrument provides a pitch and roll attitude reference coincident with the true horizon in a pilot's actual field of view through a cockpit windscreen. The principal indicator is a movable, horizontal baton which is driven from a standard gyroscopic attitude reference. The baton has two degrees of freedom, one up and down in the vertical plane for pitch attitude changes and a tilting movement for roll attitude changes. With the two degrees of freedom and the baton positioned immediately adjacent the windscreen, an artificial horizon is provided in the direct field of view of the pilot with all the advantages of peripheral vision inherent in a head-up system. The batons are illuminated to accentuate the image of the batons in the peripheral vision of the pilot.
Artificial horizon indicators are precise, gyroscopic flight instruments designed to furnish an aircraft pilot with an artificial indication of an aircraft pitch and roll attitude with respect to earth. Basically, such indicators include a gyro gimbaled within a frame which is fixed to the aircraft. Roll indicia is responsive to the gyro for rotation within a display window as a part of the frame about an axis parallel to the roll axis of the aircraft. A spherically shaped horizon indicating member is also responsive to the gyro for movement within the display window to remain parallel to the actual horizon during flight of the aircraft. The spherical horizon indicating member is pivotally mounted to the frame between the gimbal axis of the gyro and the roll indicia. The coupling of a horizon indicating member to the gyro includes a two stage three pin drive to present the aircraft pilot a uniform movement of the horizon indicating member for movement of the aircraft about the pitch axis.
3732630 - VISUAL SIMULATOR - Owned by The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy (Washington, DC)
A visual simulation device for producing pictorial motions of the real wo relative to the inside of a cockpit in terms of roll, pitch, yaw and altitude. A first attitude-direction indicator or "eight ball, " positionable in accordance with computed flight parameters, is located on an instrument panel. The calibrated markings on a second eight ball, driven in parallel with the first, are replaced with a suitably scaled rendition of sky and terrain. An image of a portion of the second eight ball's surface is projected onto a screen by a zoom lens, located behind a central opening in a parabolic reflector and coiled light source. The screen is viewed by the pilot through a Fresnel lens. The zoom lens is controlled by the computed altitude. The visual simulator is fully compatible with a dynamic G environment such as that produced in a flight simulator gimbaled on the end of a centrifuge arm.
Techniques and devices that use precession of at least one spinning gyroscope to drive a motor generator to produce electricity from an oscillating motion that causes the precession of the gyroscope. A buoy may be used to produce the oscillating motion from the motion of water waves so that electricity may be produced from motion of water waves. An oscillating motion caused by other sources, such as wind, may also be used to generate electricity.
