Patent ID: 8231079

Claim:
A speed brake apparatus for reducing the airspeed of an aircraft by increasing aerodynamic drag, comprising: an operating head adapted for linear movement generally parallel to an axis of a fuselage of the aircraft, a pair of brake panels mounted on opposites sides of portion of the aircraft, the panels being operatively associated with the operating head so as to swing outwardly in opposite directions generally about their downstream end portions, between a retracted position, to a deployed position in which the panels project outward into the air stream, and a toggle mechanism associated with each brake panel and operatively connecting the associated brake panel to the operating head and a support structure such that linear movement of the operating head causes the panels to move between the retracted and deployed positions, said toggle mechanism including a control link and a carrier link, said control link being pivotally attached, at one end, to said support structure at a fixed joint and, at the other end, being pivotally secured to a first end of the carrier link at a pivot joint, said carrier link having a second end connected to the operating head at a hinge joint, wherein a first distance, extending from the fixed joint to the pivot joint, is generally equal to a second distance, extending from the pivot joint to the hinge joint, wherein the panel has an aerodynamic center, and wherein the aerodynamic center is disposed at an intersection of a line that is an extension of the carrier link and a line that extends through the fixed joint and perpendicular to the axis.