The pylon of the present invention provides damping of vibrations
transferred in both directions between the aircraft and the payload. That
is, the pylon of the present invention damps the effects of aircraft
vibrations on the payload as well as the effects of payload vibrations on
the aircraft. This is accomplished in the present invention by
substantially eliminating any rigid connection between the aircraft and
the payload under normal operational conditions. Support of the payload
is provided by a plurality of resilient suspension elements that are
attached to both a base element and a payload interface element. The
attachment is such that the payload element is suspended below the base
element. Thus configured, the resilient suspension elements dampen the
transmission of vibrations between the payload interface element and the
base element.