Vertical Takeoff and Landing Airframe
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Airframes configured for stable in-flight transition between forward flight and vertical takeoff and landing are described herein. In one embodiment, an aircraft can include a fuselage, opposed wings extending from opposed sides of the fuselage, and a plurality of engines. At least one engine can be mounted to each of the opposed wings and at least a portion of each opposed wing including at least one of the plurality of engines can rotate relative to the fuselage around a rotation axis that is non-perpendicular and transverse to a longitudinal axis of the fuselage. Rotating portions of the wings including at least one of the plurality of engines in the described manner can provide a stable and smooth transition between vertical and forward flight.
1 Citation
50 Claims
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1-30. -30. (canceled)
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31. An aircraft, comprising:
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a fuselage; opposed wings extending from opposed sides of the fuselage; at least one engine mounted to each of the opposed wings; wherein at least a portion of each opposed wing including the at least one engine rotates relative to the fuselage around a rotation axis, and wherein the at least one engine has a propeller with a plurality of blades configured for at least one of a cyclic pitch variation and a collective pitch variation. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 47)
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42. An aircraft, comprising:
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a fuselage; opposed wings extending from opposed sides of the fuselage; a plurality of engines mounted to each of the opposed wings; wherein at least a portion of each opposed wing including the plurality of engines rotates relative to the fuselage around a rotation axis that is non-perpendicular and transverse to a longitudinal axis of the fuselage, and wherein an output of each engine is independently adjustable. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45)
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48. A method of flying an aircraft, the method comprising:
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rotating at least a portion of opposed wings relative to a fuselage around a rotation axis that is non-perpendicular and transverse to a longitudinal axis of the fuselage to orient a leading edge of each opposed wing vertically, the rotated portion of the opposed wings having at least one engine; actuating the at least one engine; and independently controlling an output of the at least one engine to hover the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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Specification