US Patent 7300019 Multimodal, deployable vehicle

A multimodal vehicle includes a ground based vehicle with an attached high-capacity airfoil parachute for deployment. The ground based vehicle includes a drive system for use on either land, water or both. Furthermore, the ground based vehicle is sized and dimensioned for transport of multiple vehicles in a cargo plane. The high-capacity airfoil parachute allows high-altitude deployment of the multimodal vehicle. The risers to the parachute may be adjusted for powered parachute flight rather than free fall flight. The ground based vehicle may include a propeller for powered flight.