Patent ID: 8016229

Claim:
An air vehicle comprising: a first bag skirt extendable along a portion of a hull of the air vehicle, the first bag skirt being inflatable to provide an air cushion during touchdown and deflatable during flight of the air vehicle; a cover including a first cover portion and a second cover portion, a first cover roller of the first cover portion and a matching second cover roller of the second cover portion abut to cover the first bag skirt, the first cover roller and the second cover roller are separable in an eyelid fashion to generate a separation gap there between, thereby causing the first bag skirt to be exposed; and roller straps corresponding to the first cover portion and the second cover portion, the roller straps including a first end secured to a periphery of a corresponding one of the first cover roller and the second cover roller and a second end that is operable to control the separation gap, wherein the first cover roller and the second cover roller include an extensible shaft and a pad securely wrapped around the extensible shaft, the extensible shaft capable of being rotated along a shaft axis, one end of the extensible shaft is pivotally coupled to the hull by an anchor, a circumference of the first cover roller and the second cover roller being configured as a function of the separation gap, and wherein the first and second cover portions each have a first end secured to the hull and a second end rollable around a corresponding one of the first cover roller and the second cover roller.