A vertical takeoff and landing ("VTOL") aircraft, e.g., an unmanned aerial vehicle ("UAV"), includes an elongated fuselage having a pair of forward swept wings and a pair of rearward swept canards, the outer tips of which are respectively joined with a respective tip end portion of one of the forwar
A vertical takeoff and landing ("VTOL") aircraft, e.g., an unmanned aerial vehicle ("UAV"), includes an elongated fuselage having a pair of forward swept wings and a pair of rearward swept canards, the outer tips of which are respectively joined with a respective tip end portion of one of the forward swept wings. The thrust outlet of a thrust-vectoring jet engine is disposed along the roll axis of the aircraft and aft of the pitch axis thereof, and a pair of downwardly exhausting ducted lift fans, e.g., tip turbine fans, are respectively disposed within a tip end portion of respective ones of the forward swept wings such that the fans are located symmetrically with respect to each other on opposite sides of the roll axis and forward of the pitch axis. The aircraft is capable of VTOL operations, including hovering, and is highly maneuverable at both very low and very high speeds.
대표청구항▼
What is claimed is: 1. A VTOL aircraft, comprising: an elongated fuselage; a pair of forward swept main wings, each having a root end respectively attached at an opposite side of a rear portion of the fuselage and an opposite tip end; a pair of rearward swept canards, each having a root end respect
What is claimed is: 1. A VTOL aircraft, comprising: an elongated fuselage; a pair of forward swept main wings, each having a root end respectively attached at an opposite side of a rear portion of the fuselage and an opposite tip end; a pair of rearward swept canards, each having a root end respectively attached at an opposite side of a front portion of the fuselage and an opposite tip end conjoined with a tip end portion of a corresponding one of the forward swept main wings at position disposed substantially forward of a pitch axis of the aircraft; a thrust-vectoring jet engine disposed along a roll axis of the aircraft and having a thrust outlet disposed substantially aft of the pitch axis thereof; and, a pair of downwardly exhausting ducted lift fans respectively disposed within a tip end portion of a corresponding one of the forward swept main wings such that the fans are located symmetrically with respect to each other on opposite sides of the roll axis and substantially forward of the pitch axis, wherein the thrust-vectoring engine and the ducted lift fans operate in cooperation with each other to define a bilaterally symmetrical, triangular-shaped lift platform having a base extending between the ducted lift fans, an apex coincident with the thrust outlet of the thrust-vectoring jet engine and a centroid coincident with the center of gravity (CG) of the aircraft and upon which the weight of the aircraft is stably supported so as to prevent unstable pitching, rolling and yawing of the aircraft during hovering and low speed operations. 2. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust-vectoring engine comprises a turbofan engine or a turbojet engine. 3. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust vectoring comprises two-dimensional or three-dimensional thrust vectoring. 4. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust vectoring is effected by means of movable vanes, flaps, nozzles or a combination thereof, disposed at a thrust outlet of the engine. 5. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the lift fans comprise tip turbine fans driven by compressed gas bled off of the jet engine. 6. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein inlets and outlets of the lift fans are respectively openable and closable by movable louvers. 7. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the aircraft comprises a UAV. 8. A method of operating a VTOL aircraft, the method comprising: providing the aircraft of claim 1; directing the thrust of the engine substantially upward; increasing the respective thrusts of the engine and the lift fans such that the sum of the moments of the respective thrusts about the center of gravity of the aircraft is maintained at zero, the combined thrusts of the fans and the engine exceeds the weight of the aircraft, and the aircraft rises to a selected altitude; rotating the direction of thrust of the engine forward such that the aircraft accelerates to a forward speed at which the wings of the aircraft produce lift; and, decreasing the respective thrusts of the lift fans when the lift produced by the wings is equal to the weight of the aircraft. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising rotating the direction of thrust of the engine in a vertical direction such that the aircraft pitches in a selected direction about the pitch axis of the aircraft. 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising rotating the direction of thrust of the engine in a lateral direction such that the aircraft yaws in a selected direction about a yaw axis of the aircraft. 11. A method of operating a VTOL aircraft, the method comprising: providing the aircraft of claim 1; directing the thrust of the engine substantially upward; increasing the respective thrusts of the engine and the lift fans such that the sum of the moments of the respective thrusts about the center of gravity of the aircraft is maintained at zero, the combined thrusts of the fans and the engine exceed the weight of the aircraft, and the aircraft rises to a selected altitude; and, decreasing the respective thrusts of the engine and the lift fans such that the sum of the moments of the respective thrusts about the center of gravity of the aircraft is maintained at zero, the combined thrusts of the fans and the engine is equal to the weight of the aircraft, and the aircraft hovers at the selected altitude. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: increasing the thrust of the engine; and, rotating the direction of thrust of the engine rearward until an upward component of the engine thrust is substantially equal to the combined thrust of the lift fans, the sum of the moments of the respective thrusts about the center of gravity of the aircraft is maintained at zero, the combined thrust of the engine and the lift fans is substantially equal to the weight of the aircraft, and the aircraft translates horizontally in a forward direction. 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: increasing the thrust of the engine; and, rotating the direction of thrust of the engine in a lateral direction until the sum of the moments of the respective thrusts of the engine and the lift fans about the center of gravity of the aircraft is maintained at zero, the combined thrust of the engine and the lift fans is substantially equal to the weight of the aircraft, and the aircraft yaws about a yaw axis of the aircraft.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (19)
Garrett Timothy M., Aerodynamic body having coplanar joined wings.
Koenig David G. (Sunnyvale CA) Aoyagi Kiyoshi (Mountain View CA) Dudley Michael R. (Los Altos CA) Schmidt Susan B. (Pensacola FL), High performance forward swept wing aircraft.
Frolov, Sergey V.; Cyrus, Michael; Moussouris, John Peter, Vertical take-off and landing detachable carrier and system for airborne and ground transportation.
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