Purebred and Hybrid Electric VTOL Tilt Rotor Aircraft
First Claim
1. A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) heavier than air aircraft, comprising:
- at least a first electric motor coupled to a first rotor configured to produce a thrust force counter to a weight of the aircraft;
at least one electrical energy store coupled to at least the first electric motor; and
wherein the aircraft is capable achieving hover-out-of-ground-effect (HOGE) for a period of at least four minutes while the first electric motor drives the first rotor to produce the thrust, and while the aircraft carries a payload of at least 50 pounds.
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Abstract
Electrically powered Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft are presented. Contemplated VTOL aircraft can include one or more electrical energy stores capable of delivering electrical power to one or more electric motors disposed within one or more rotor housings, where the motors can drive the rotors. The VTOL aircraft can also include one or more sustainer energy/power sources (e.g., batteries, engines, generators, fuel-cells, semi-cells, etc.) capable of driving the motors should the energy stores fail or deplete. Various VTOL configurations are presented including an all-battery purebred design, a light hybrid design, and a heavy hybrid design. The contemplated configurations address safety, noise, and outwash concerns to allow such designs to operate in built-up areas while retaining competitive performance relative to existing aircraft.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) heavier than air aircraft, comprising:
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at least a first electric motor coupled to a first rotor configured to produce a thrust force counter to a weight of the aircraft; at least one electrical energy store coupled to at least the first electric motor; and wherein the aircraft is capable achieving hover-out-of-ground-effect (HOGE) for a period of at least four minutes while the first electric motor drives the first rotor to produce the thrust, and while the aircraft carries a payload of at least 50 pounds. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification