Patent ID: 8418954

Claim:
An aircraft wing assembly comprising: a. a wing; b. a spoiler pivotally attached to the wing; and c. a spoiler deployment mechanism comprising: i. a linkage mechanism with an upper link pivotally attached to the spoiler at an upper pivot, and a lower link pivotally attached to the wing at a lower pivot and to the upper link at a central pivot; and ii. an actuator pivotally attached to the wing at a proximal pivot and to the linkage mechanism at a distal pivot, the actuator being adjustable between expanded and contracted configurations so as to vary the distance between the proximal and distal pivots, wherein the proximal and distal pivots are spaced apart in a predominantly span-wise direction in at least one configuration of the actuator, wherein the upper link can rotate about two orthogonal axes and the lower link can rotate about two orthogonal axes, and wherein the distal pivot which attaches the actuator to the linkage mechanism is co-axial with the central pivot which attaches the lower link of the linkage mechanism to the upper link of the linkage mechanism.