초록 ▼

An improved gyroplane having an improved rotor blade with an edgewise stiffness (El) of at least 80,000 pounds inch.sup.2 per pound of aircraft gross weight and blade weights of sufficient size to store a minimum of 100 foot pounds of rotational kinetic energy per pound of gross weight of the gyropl

An improved gyroplane having an improved rotor blade with an edgewise stiffness (El) of at least 80,000 pounds inch.sup.2 per pound of aircraft gross weight and blade weights of sufficient size to store a minimum of 100 foot pounds of rotational kinetic energy per pound of gross weight of the gyroplane while the rotor blade pitch is set to minimum lift during blade prerotation. Then a clutch driving the rotor is disengaged and the rotor blade pitch is changed to a lift condition to enable the gyroplane to climb to an altitude of at least fifty feet. The speed and thrust of a propeller is increased to achieve an increasing a horizontal velocity to maintain altitude, first with the rotor blade providing most of the lift and until the wings provide all the lift. To maximize velocity an improved flight control method is utilized. With this method, the angle of attack of the rotor disc is decreased and the pitch of the rotor blade is reduced to decrease rotor blade rotational speed to minimize drag during flight. During horizontal flight while the rotor blade is loaded, the wing is maintained at a constant angle of attack and the horizontal stabilizer is fixed and does not move. (It's angle of attack stays at generally zero degrees.) After the blade is unloaded during horizontal flight, the angle of attack of the rotor disc and the horizontal stabilizer are kept parallel to each other and maintained generally at a zero angle of attack.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method of flying a gyroplane having a two-bladed rotor, a forward thrust means, a wing, a horizontal stabilizer, and an engine to rotate the rotor blade, comprising the steps of:providing the rotor with an edgewise stiffness of at least 80,000 pounds inch.sup.2 per poun

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method of flying a gyroplane having a two-bladed rotor, a forward thrust means, a wing, a horizontal stabilizer, and an engine to rotate the rotor blade, comprising the steps of:providing the rotor with an edgewise stiffness of at least 80,000 pounds inch.sup.2 per pound of aircraft gross weight and blade weights to enable rotation at a speed to store a minimum of 100 foot pounds per pound of gross weight;rotating the rotor at said speed to describe a rotor disc, while the angle of attack of the rotor blades is set to a minimum lift condition;changing the angle of attack of the rotor blades to a lift condition for vertical climbing;increasing forward thrust to achieve an increasing horizontal velocity necessary to maintain a selected altitude, first with the rotor providing most of the lift and until the wing provides most of the lift;reducing the pitch of the rotor disc and the angle of attack of the rotor blades to essentially zero lift to decrease the rotor rotational speed to minimize drag during horizontal flight.