Vehicles particularly useful as VTOL vehicles
First Claim
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1. A vehicle comprising:
- a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis wherein said fuselage includes a pair of thrust-producing propellers at the rear end of said fuselage on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis, said pair of thrust-producing propellers supported above said fuselage on a pair of pylons extending upwardly from said fuselage;
at least two lift-producing propellers carried within said fuselage respectively on each side of said transverse axis;
a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; and
at least two engines, each capable of driving said pair of thrust-producing propellers and said lift-producing propellers.
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Abstract
A vehicle including a fuselage, at least one lift-producing propeller carried by the fuselage on each side of its transverse axis a pilot'"'"'s compartment formed in the fuselage between the lift-producing propellers and substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis, and a pair of payload bays formed in the fuselage between the lift-producing propellers and on opposite sides of the pilot'"'"'s compartment. Many variations are described enabling the vehicle to be used not only as a VTOL vehicle, but also as a multi-function utility vehicle for performing many diverse functions including hovercraft and ATV functions.
186 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A vehicle comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis wherein said fuselage includes a pair of thrust-producing propellers at the rear end of said fuselage on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis, said pair of thrust-producing propellers supported above said fuselage on a pair of pylons extending upwardly from said fuselage; at least two lift-producing propellers carried within said fuselage respectively on each side of said transverse axis; a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; and at least two engines, each capable of driving said pair of thrust-producing propellers and said lift-producing propellers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A vehicle, comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis; at least one lift-producing propeller carried by said fuselage on each side of said transverse axis; a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; at least one payload bay formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers, wherein the vehicle is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle; and wherein said VTOL vehicle includes a pair of stub wings each moveable between a retracted, stored postion and an extended, deployed postion; and
apair of thrust-producing propellers supported on pylons extending upwardly from a rear end of said fuselage, on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A ducted fan vehicle comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis wherein said fuselage includes at least two ducted fans incorporating lift-producing propellers carried within said fuselage respectively on each side of said transverse axis; a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; wherein said fuselage includes two engines, each of said engines capable of driving all of said lift-producing propellers, said two engines being mechanically coupled together in a common transmission system; and wherein each of the engines connects to one of the lift-producing propellers via plural gear boxes, and the other of the lift-producing propellers is connected to said two engines via another gear box longitudinally aligned with one of said plural gear boxes, and further comprising a pair of thrust-producing propellers connected to respective ones of said two engines via two of said plural gear boxes connected directly to said engines. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification