Aircraft having a helicopter rotor and an inclined front mounted propeller
First Claim
1. An aircraft comprising:
- a fuselage having a front end, a rear end and a longitudinal axis;
a main helicopter rotor supported for rotation about an axis thereof on top of the fuselage, said rotor being operable to control both vertical and horizontal movement of the aircraft;
a propeller supported for rotation about an axis thereof at the front end of the fuselage for selectively producing thrust to move the aircraft forward; and
at least one powerplant supported on the fuselage;
the main rotor and propeller each being operatively connected to the at least one powerplant for selective driven rotation thereby;
wherein vertical lift of the aircraft is provided substantially wholly by the main helicopter rotor;
the propeller being supported for rotation in a plane transverse to the fuselage, said plane being inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage so as to extend upward from front to rear with said longitudinal axis horizontally oriented.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An aircraft features a nose mounted propeller on a fuselage having a typical helicopter rotor assembly. The propeller axis of rotation is tilted upward from the longitudinal axis of the fuselage so that its rear face points downward. By reducing the amount of lift and forward thrust needed from the main rotor, the propeller allows greater forward speeds as the angle of attack on the rotor'"'"'s blades can be kept low to avoid the stalling and violent vibration experienced by conventional helicopters at relatively high speeds. By greatly reducing the amount of thrust produced by the main rotor but still using it to generate lift, the addition of wings can be avoided. The aircraft can be flown in a forward direction in a generally horizontal orientation, as the nose does not have to be pitched downward to create thrust from the main rotor.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. An aircraft comprising:
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a fuselage having a front end, a rear end and a longitudinal axis;
a main helicopter rotor supported for rotation about an axis thereof on top of the fuselage, said rotor being operable to control both vertical and horizontal movement of the aircraft;
a propeller supported for rotation about an axis thereof at the front end of the fuselage for selectively producing thrust to move the aircraft forward; and
at least one powerplant supported on the fuselage;
the main rotor and propeller each being operatively connected to the at least one powerplant for selective driven rotation thereby;
wherein vertical lift of the aircraft is provided substantially wholly by the main helicopter rotor;
the propeller being supported for rotation in a plane transverse to the fuselage, said plane being inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage so as to extend upward from front to rear with said longitudinal axis horizontally oriented. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification