SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LONG ENDURANCE VERTICAL TAKEOFF AND LANDING VEHICLE
First Claim
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1. A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
- a fuselage, wherein the fuselage has a nose end and a tail end;
an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage, wherein the empennage comprises a stabilizer configuration;
two counter-rotating engines that are arranged such that one engine is mounted on the wing at each side of the fuselage; and
a wing;
wherein the fuselage is positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing;
wherein the wing is configured to transform between a vertical configuration and a horizontal configuration using at least one pivotal connector positioned on each side of the fuselage;
wherein, during a first phase of takeoff, the wing is in the vertical configuration thereby causing the nose end of the fuselage to lift off the ground while the tail end remains on the ground;
wherein, during a second phase of takeoff, the wing transitions from the vertical configuration to the horizontal configuration until the fuselage achieves a predetermined stand-up angle; and
wherein, during a third phase of takeoff, the wing is in the horizontal configuration and the aircraft is capable of wingborne flight.
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Abstract
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a fuselage, an empennage having an all-moving horizontal stabilizer located at a tail end of the fuselage, a wing having the fuselage positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing, wherein the wing is configured to transform between a substantially straight wing configuration and a canted wing configuration using a canted hinge located on each side of the fuselage. The VTOL aircraft may further includes one or more retractable pogo supports, wherein a retractable pogo support is configured to deploy from each of the wing'"'"'s distal ends.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
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a fuselage, wherein the fuselage has a nose end and a tail end; an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage, wherein the empennage comprises a stabilizer configuration; two counter-rotating engines that are arranged such that one engine is mounted on the wing at each side of the fuselage; and a wing; wherein the fuselage is positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing; wherein the wing is configured to transform between a vertical configuration and a horizontal configuration using at least one pivotal connector positioned on each side of the fuselage; wherein, during a first phase of takeoff, the wing is in the vertical configuration thereby causing the nose end of the fuselage to lift off the ground while the tail end remains on the ground; wherein, during a second phase of takeoff, the wing transitions from the vertical configuration to the horizontal configuration until the fuselage achieves a predetermined stand-up angle; and wherein, during a third phase of takeoff, the wing is in the horizontal configuration and the aircraft is capable of wingborne flight. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
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a fuselage, wherein the fuselage has a nose end and a tail end; an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage, wherein the empennage comprises a stabilizer configuration; one or more engines; a wing; and a retractable pogo support;
wherein the retractable pogo support is configured to deploy from the fuselage to form a tripod launch and recovery configuration with the empennage. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
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a fuselage, wherein the fuselage has a nose end and a tail end; an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage, wherein the empennage comprises a stabilizer configuration; one or more engines; a wing; wherein the fuselage is positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing; wherein the wing is configured to transform between a substantially straight wing configuration and a canted wing configuration using a canted hinge located on the wing at each side of the fuselage; and two or more retractable pogo supports;
wherein a retractable pogo support is configured to deploy from each of the wing'"'"'s distal ends. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification