Suspension for landing condition

1. An adjustable damping system for an aerocar, the aerocar including a wing system, the aerocar being configured to operate in a roadable mode and a flight mode, the adjustable damping system comprising:

a front suspension assembly;

a rear suspension assembly;

a conduit system providing a hydraulic fluid in fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly;

an auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir coupled to the conduit system and configured to selectively maintain or interrupt fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly to adjust damping of the front suspension assembly after a landing impact force is received by the rear suspension assembly; and

a controller configured to direct a flow of hydraulic fluid within the conduit system and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir, wherein operation of the controller is based on the aerocar being in one of the roadable mode and the flight mode.

2. The adjustable damping system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the controller and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir is configured to direct the flow of hydraulic fluid from the rear suspension assembly to the front suspension assembly when a stroke of the rear suspension assembly exceeds a predetermined value, whereby the predetermined value is indicative of the landing impact force.

3. An adjustable damping system for an aerocar, the aerocar being configured to operate in a roadable mode and a flight mode, the adjustable damping system comprising:

a front suspension assembly;

a rear suspension assembly;

a conduit system providing a hydraulic fluid in fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly;

an auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir coupled to the conduit system and configured to selectively maintain or interrupt fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly to adjust damping of the front suspension assembly after a landing impact force is received by the rear suspension assembly; and

a controller configured to direct a flow of hydraulic fluid within the conduit system and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir, wherein operation of the controller is based on the aerocar being in one of the roadable mode and the flight mode,

at least one of the controller and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir being configured to increase an amount of damping of the front suspension assembly in a manner proportional to an angle of descent of a landing aerocar, whereby the landing impact force varies based on the angle of descent.

4. The adjustable damping system of claim 3 , wherein the angle of descent is between substantially 3 and substantially 15 degrees.

5. The adjustable damping system of claim 1 , wherein the rear suspension assembly is configured to compress upon receiving the landing impact force, thereby directing a flow of hydraulic fluid to the front suspension assembly.

6. The adjustable damping system of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir is configured to interrupt a flow of hydraulic fluid from the rear suspension assembly to the front suspension assembly during operation of the aerocar in the roadable mode.

7. The adjustable damping system of claim 1 , wherein the front suspension assembly comprises a pair of front wheels and a pair of front dampers, and the rear suspension assembly comprises a pair of rear wheels and a pair of rear dampers, and a damping adjustment is equally applied to each front damper.

8. An aerocar with a dual mode suspension system, the aerocar being configured to operate in a roadable mode and a flight mode, the aerocar comprising:

a wing system;

a front suspension assembly having a front axle and at least one front wheel;

a rear suspension assembly having a rear axle and at least one rear wheel;

a conduit system providing a hydraulic fluid in fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly;

a controller configured to change operation of the dual mode suspension system based on the aerocar being in one of the roadable mode and the flight mode; and

an auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir coupled to the conduit system and configured to selectively maintain or interrupt fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly in order to adjust damping of the front suspension assembly,

the rear suspension assembly being configured to compress upon receiving a landing impact force, thereby directing a flow of hydraulic fluid to the front suspension assembly.

9. The aerocar of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to direct a flow of hydraulic fluid within the conduit system and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir.

10. The aerocar of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the controller and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir is configured to direct the flow of hydraulic fluid from the rear suspension assembly to the front suspension assembly when a stroke of the rear suspension assembly exceeds a predetermined value.

11. An aerocar with a dual mode suspension system, the aerocar comprising:

a front suspension assembly having a front axle and at least one front wheel;

a rear suspension assembly having a rear axle and at least one rear wheel;

a conduit system providing a hydraulic fluid in fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly;

a controller configured to change operation of the dual mode suspension system between a roadable mode and a flight mode; and

an auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir coupled to the conduit system and configured to selectively maintain or interrupt fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly in order to adjust damping of the front suspension assembly,

the controller being configured to direct a flow of hydraulic fluid within the conduit system and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir, and

at least one of the controller and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir being configured to increase an amount of damping of the front axle in a manner proportional to an angle of descent of a landing aerocar.

12. The aerocar of claim 11 , wherein the angle of descent is between substantially 3 and substantially 15 degrees.

13. The aerocar of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the controller and the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir is configured to interrupt a flow of hydraulic fluid from the rear suspension assembly to the front suspension assembly during operation of the aerocar in the roadable mode.

14. A method for adjusting damping characteristics of a suspension system of an aerocar during a landing event, the aerocar being configured to operate in a plurality of operational modes including a roadable mode and a flight mode, the aerocar including a wing system, a conduit system in the aerocar including a hydraulic fluid in fluid communication between an auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir, a front suspension assembly, and a rear suspension assembly of the aerocar, the method comprising:

selectively maintaining or interrupting the fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly based on the operational mode of the aerocar; and

adjusting damping characteristics of the front suspension assembly upon receiving a landing impact by the rear suspension assembly during the landing event.

15. A method for adjusting damping characteristics of a suspension system of an aerocar during a landing event, a conduit system in the aerocar including a hydraulic fluid in fluid communication between an auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir, a front suspension assembly, and a rear suspension assembly of the aerocar, the method comprising:

selectively maintaining or interrupting the fluid communication between the front suspension assembly and the rear suspension assembly based on an operational mode of the aerocar; and

adjusting damping characteristics of the front suspension assembly upon receiving a landing impact by the rear suspension assembly,

wherein adjusting damping characteristics comprises increasing damping of the front suspension assembly in an amount proportional to an angle of descent of the aerocar during landing, whereby the landing impact varies based on the angle of descent.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the angle of descent is between substantially 3 and substantially 15 degrees.

17. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising measuring a stroke value of the rear suspension assembly upon receiving the landing impact, wherein the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir is configured to increase damping of the front suspension assembly when a stroke of the rear suspension assembly exceeds a predetermined value.

18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the auxiliary hydraulic fluid reservoir is configured to increase damping of the front suspension assembly when the stroke of the rear suspension assembly is greater than substantially 80 mm.