Aerodynamic integration of a payload container with a vertical take-off and landing aircraft
First Claim
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1. A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft comprising:
- an airframe which defines a cargo tunnel along a longitudinal axis of said airframe, said cargo tunnel interfaces with a first surface of a payload container and extends at least partially along a second side and a third side of the payload container, wherein said cargo tunnel has an axial length that is longer than a length of the payload container,a landing gear system that retracts to selectively vertically position the cargo tunnel relative to the payload container when said landing gear system is in contact with ground.
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Abstract
A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) rotary-wing air-craft is sized and configured to match a payload container such as a standardized Joint Modular Intermodal Container (JMIC). The aircraft may be an Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) that is capable of autonomously engaging and disengaging the container so that the aircraft can pick up and drop off the JMIC with minimum human intervention.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft comprising:
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an airframe which defines a cargo tunnel along a longitudinal axis of said airframe, said cargo tunnel interfaces with a first surface of a payload container and extends at least partially along a second side and a third side of the payload container, wherein said cargo tunnel has an axial length that is longer than a length of the payload container, a landing gear system that retracts to selectively vertically position the cargo tunnel relative to the payload container when said landing gear system is in contact with ground. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft comprising:
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an airframe which defines a cargo tunnel along a longitudinal axis of said airframe, said cargo tunnel interfaces with a first surface of a payload container and extends at least partially along a second side and a third side of the payload container; and a dual, counter-rotating, coaxial rotor system which defines an axis of rotation, said axis of rotation intersects said first surface of the payload container when the payload container is held within said cargo tunnel a landing gear system selectively positionable relative to said airframe when contacting ground to vertically position said cargo tunnel relative to the payload container to attach said upper surface to said payload container when said aircraft is on the ground. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft comprising:
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an airframe which defines a cargo tunnel along a longitudinal axis of said airframe, said cargo tunnel interfaces with a first surface of a payload container and extends at least partially along a second side and a third side of the payload container; and an aerodynamic structure forward of the payload container to define an aerodynamic interface forward of the payload container, wherein said cargo tunnel has an axial length that is longer than a length of the payload container a landing gear system that is retractable when said aircraft is on ground to selectively position the cargo tunnel vertically when said aircraft is on ground. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification