Systems and Methods for Rotor/Wing Aircraft
First Claim
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1. An aircraft, comprising:
- an airframe having a fuselage and a canard projecting laterally outwardly from opposing lateral sides of the fuselage;
a propulsion system operatively coupled to the airframe and configured to selectively provide a thrust component;
a rotor/wing assembly operatively coupled to the airframe and configured to be selectively operated in a rotational mode of operation to provide a lift component, and a stationary mode of operation; and
a drive assembly operatively coupled to the rotor/wing assembly and to the propulsion system and including a radial inflow turbine assembly configured to extract work from the propulsion system to selectively rotate the rotor/wing assembly to provide the lift component.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for rotor/wing aircraft are disclosed. In one embodiment, an aircraft includes an airframe, a high-lift canard and tail, a rotor/wing, a propulsion system, and a drive assembly. The drive assembly, which may include a radial inflow turbine, is configured to extract work from the propulsion system to selectively rotate the rotor/wing assembly thus enabling the aircraft to conduct rotary-wing flight, fixed wing flight as well as smoothly transition between the two modes of flight.
120 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An aircraft, comprising:
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an airframe having a fuselage and a canard projecting laterally outwardly from opposing lateral sides of the fuselage; a propulsion system operatively coupled to the airframe and configured to selectively provide a thrust component; a rotor/wing assembly operatively coupled to the airframe and configured to be selectively operated in a rotational mode of operation to provide a lift component, and a stationary mode of operation; and a drive assembly operatively coupled to the rotor/wing assembly and to the propulsion system and including a radial inflow turbine assembly configured to extract work from the propulsion system to selectively rotate the rotor/wing assembly to provide the lift component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An aircraft, comprising:
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an airframe having a fuselage and a pair of canards and horizontal tails projecting laterally outwardly from opposing lateral sides of the fuselage; a propulsion system operatively coupled to the airframe and configured to selectively provide a thrust component, the propulsion system having at least one engine that produces an exhaust flow; a rotor/wing assembly operatively coupled to the airframe and configured to be selectively operated in a rotational mode of operation to provide a lift component, and a stationary mode of operation; a drive assembly operatively coupled to the rotor/wing assembly and to the propulsion system and including a gearbox assembly configured to extract work from the propulsion system to selectively rotate the rotor/wing assembly to provide the lift component; and a yaw control system configured to provide a lateral force by exhausting a portion of the exhaust flow in a lateral direction. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A drive assembly for an aircraft having a propulsion system and a rotor/wing assembly, the drive assembly comprising:
a radial inflow turbine assembly configured to be operatively coupled to the rotor/wing assembly and to the propulsion system and configured to extract work from the propulsion system to selectively rotate the rotor/wing assembly. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
Specification