Moscow engineer Sergey Ignatyev has developed a scheme for an aircraft wing folding device that can simplify the storage of light aircraft and bring closer the appearance of machines capable of both flying and driving on roads. The system is designed for light gliders.
The wing consoles fold along the fuselage with the trailing edge upwards, which significantly reduces the aircraft's width and allows it to be stored in a regular hangar or even a large garage.
The main feature of the development is a new scheme of hinge joints, struts, and auxiliary struts. They distribute loads between the nodes and reduce effort when folding the wing.
The mechanism can be operated both manually and with an electric or hydraulic drive directly from the cockpit.
The engineer also provided for the automatic opening of special flaps in the area where the wing meets the fuselage. They free up space for the movement of mechanisms during folding. When the wing returns to the flight position, the flaps close automatically.
