United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 5,836,541 Pham (45) Date of Patent: Nov
USOO5836541A United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 5,836,541 Pham (45) Date of Patent: Nov. 17, 1998 54) EASILY-CONVERTIBLE FIXED-WING 3,986,686 10/1976 Girard ..................................... 244f7 A ROADABLE AIRCRAFT 4,269,374 5/1981 Miller .......................................... 244/2 4,720,061 1/1988 Abdenour et al. ... 244/46 76 Inventor: Roger N. C. Pham, 625 Veranda Ct., 4.881,701 11/1989 Bullard - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 244/2 #1140, Grand Prairie, Tex. 75050 5,050,817 9/1991 Miller .......................................... 244/2 21 Appl.ppl. No.: 859,7329 Primary Examiner-Galen L. Barefoot 57 ABSTRACT 22 Filed: May 21, 1997 57 A fixed-wing four-seat light aircraft that can be easily Related U.S. Application Data converted to a roadway vehicle within minutes by a single perSon in the field, comprising a one-piece wing center panel 63 Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 811,503, Mar. 5, 1997. with foldable wing tips on each sides. The whole wing unit (51) Int. Cl. ............................................... B64C37.00 is then rotatably mounted on top of the fuselage. The aircraft 52 U.S. CI 24412; 244/46; 244/49 features a conventional front-engine-and-propeller lay-out, 58 Fi la fs - - - - - - - - h - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - s 2442. 46.49 with a short fuselage for convenient roadability and 58) Field of Searc 244/135R, 1 R, 100 R. 1 02 R 50 garageability, with horizontal Stabilizer of Significant Span s s s s with foldable tips for adequate flight stability. The vehicle 56) References Cited has a low ride-height with a low center of gravity, four wheels with independent Suspension, nose-height leveling U.S.
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