Vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

• US 5,839,691 A
• Filed: 05/22/1996
• Issued: 11/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jean Soulez Lariviere
• Original Assignee: Jean Soulez Lariviere
• Inventors: Lariviere, Jean Soulez
• Primary Examiner(s): Barefoot, Galen L.
• Application Number:
  US08/651,582
• Time in Patent Office: 916 Days
• Field of Search: 244/7 R, 244/6, 244/7 A, 244/7 C, 244/12.1, 244/12.3, 244/12.4, 244/56, 244/66, 244/17.23
• US Class Current: 244/7.00R
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/605 including swash plate, spider or cam mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 29/0033 the propellers being tiltable relative to the fuselage

Abstract

A vertical takeoff and landing aircraft has a fuselage with a wing located above the fuselage at the rearward end and with a horizontal stabilizer located at the forward end. The propellers are mounted on booms separate from the wings and located just behind the center of gravity of the aircraft. The propellers are pivotable between horizontal and vertical axes and brakes are provided to allow locking of propeller position. When the brakes are released, the propellers automatically pivot between vertical and horizontal orientations and vice-versa based upon control of the aircraft by the pilot.

Claims

1. A vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, comprising:

a) a fuselage having a forward end and a rearward end;

b) a wing mounted on and extending from said rearward end;

c) a horizontal stabilizer mounted on said forward end;

d) a pair of opposed booms independent of said wing and extending laterally of said fuselage between said wing and horizontal stabilizer;

e) each boom having an end distal of said fuselage to which is mounted a propeller nacelle carrying an unshrouded propeller having an axis of rotation, each nacelle being freely pivotable about a pivoting axis, each propeller having a plurality of propeller blades;

f) engine means for driving said propellers;

g) each propeller nacelle being pivotable between a first position wherein said axis of rotation is approximately horizontal and a second position wherein said axis of rotation is approximately vertical; and

h) brake means for restraining free pivoting movements of said nacelles, whereby release of said brake means permits free pivoting of said nacelles.

2. The aircraft of claim 1, having a center of gravity forward of said booms.

3. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said wing includes two opposed ends each of which carries a fixed downwardly extending fin, said wing being supported above said fuselage and free of propeller downwash.

4. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said horizontal stabilizer includes two oppositely directed canards each of which includes a single pivotable flap.

5. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said wing is generally V-shaped.

6. The aircraft of claim 5, wherein said wing includes two opposed ends each of which carries a fixed downwardly extending fin.

7. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein each propeller is driven by said engine means via transmission means.

8. The aircraft of claim 7, wherein said engine means is located within said fuselage, said transmission means extending within said booms.

9. The aircraft of claim 8, wherein said transmission means includes a drive shaft within each boom, each drive shaft having a distal end carrying a first conical gear enmeshing with a second conical gear on one end of a propeller shaft, another end of said propeller shaft being coupled to a propeller hub carrying said propeller blades, said hub and blades comprising a said propeller.

10. The aircraft of claim 9, wherein each blade is rotatably connected to said hub via an insert swivelling on a spindle via two spaced bearings.

11. The aircraft of claim 9, wherein each blade is rotatably connected to said hub, and further comprising pitch varying means for simultaneously rotating said blades with respect to said hub to adjust propeller pitch.

12. The aircraft of claim 11, wherein said pitch varying means comprises both a collective pitch varying means and a cyclic pitch varying means.

13. The aircraft of claim 12, wherein pitches of left and right propellers are controlled by a common pitch control assembly which maintains equal pitch for each propeller.

14. The aircraft of claim 12, wherein cyclic pitch variation is controlled by a swash plate.

15. The aircraft of claim 8, wherein each of said propeller nacelles freely pivots with respect to a respective boom at a pivot, each propeller nacelle having coupled thereto a rod which transmits tilt angle of a coupled propeller nacelle to a central assembly for restraining tilt angle variation rate and tilt angle between 0°

and 90°

tilt.

16. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein each said rod comprises a torsion rod whereby one propeller nacelle may tilt at a tilting angle up to 3°

different from a tilting angle transmitted to the central assembly.

17. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein said central assembly includes a limit stop preventing tilt angle from exceeding 90°

backward.

18. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein said central assembly comprises a damper allowing slow tilt-angle rate for conversion without causing any appreciable change in control moment transmitted for aircraft pitch control.

19. The aircraft of claim 18, wherein said damper comprises a reciprocating rod coupled to said torsion rod and carrying a piston received within a cylinder, said cylinder having ports to either side of said piston interconnected by a conduit having a calibrated nozzle for restraining tilt-angle variation rate to relatively small values.

20. The aircraft of claim 19, wherein said conduit has a valve therein comprising brake means actuable between an opened position allowing free flow of fluid and a closed position stopping fluid flow and braking piston movement.

21. The aircraft of claim 19, wherein said torsion rod is coupled to said reciprocating rod via a rack and pinion.

22. The aircraft of claim 19, said cylinder having an upper wall comprising a limit stop limiting upper movement of said piston and, thereby, pivoting movement of a propeller nacelle.

23. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein each propeller nacelle pivot has a lock engageable to maintain propeller axis parallel to aircraft axis.

24. The aircraft of claim 1, further including cyclic pitch control means for controlling cyclic pitch of said propeller blades, adjustments of cyclic pitch of said propeller blades with said brake means at least partially released causing automatic relative pivoting movements between said nacelles and booms.

25. The aircraft of claim 14, wherein movements of a control stick are transmitted to said swash plate by flexible ball bearing control drives.

26. In a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft including two opposed propeller carrying nacelles freely pivotably mounted to move between generally horizontal and vertical orientations, the improvement comprising:

a) each propeller being unshrouded and driven by engine means;

b) pitch varying means for varying propeller pitch;

c) brake means for controllably preventing free pivoting of said nacelles;

d) control means for controlling operation of said aircraft including control of said pitch varying means;

e) said aircraft being flown from a position sitting on a ground surface with said nacelles in a generally vertical orientation and lifting off controlled by a pilot operating said control means, whereby release of said brake means allows (1) forward self-pivoting of said nacelles, responsive to controlled adjustment of said pitch varying means, to a generally horizontal orientation to permit horizontal flight of said aircraft, and (2) backward self-pivoting, responsive to controlled adjustment of said pitch varying means, to return from horizontal flight to hovering and landing.

27. The aircraft of claim 26, wherein each nacelle is connected to said brake means via a torsion rod twistable up to 3°

with respect to a pivoting angle of one of said nacelles.

28. The aircraft of claim 26, wherein said brake means includes a piston slidably received within a cylinder, a conduit interconnecting opposed ends of said cylinder and a valve in said conduit, closure of said valve preventing piston movement, said piston being coupled to a nacelle pivot.

29. The aircraft of claim 26, wherein said control means includes a control stick universally mounted in said aircraft and adapted to control propeller pitch.

30. The aircraft of claim 29, wherein movements of said control stick are transmitted to a swash plate by flexible ball bearing control drives.

31. In a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft including opposed left and right nacelles, each carrying an unshrouded propeller having a plurality of blades comprising a left and right propeller, respectively, said nacelles being pivotably mounted to move between generally horizontal and vertical orientations, the improvement comprising said left propeller turning counterclockwise and said right propeller turning clockwise and each propeller including ditch variation means for varying cyclic pitch thereof, said nacelles pivoting on said aircraft, a roll control solely operated by varying lateral cyclic pitch of said propellers regardless of orientation of said nacelles whereby opposed rotation directions of said propellers results in additive direction of roll action of radial forces on said blades.