초록 ▼

A system and method are provided for a short take-off and landing/vertical take-off and landing aircraft that stores required take-off power in the form of primarily an electric fan engine, and secondarily in the form of an internal combustion engine, wherein the combined power of the electric fan a

A system and method are provided for a short take-off and landing/vertical take-off and landing aircraft that stores required take-off power in the form of primarily an electric fan engine, and secondarily in the form of an internal combustion engine, wherein the combined power of the electric fan and internal combustion engines can cause the STOL/VTOL A/C to take-off in substantially less amount of time and space than other STOL/VTOL A/C, and further wherein the transition from vertical to horizontal thrust is carefully executed to rapidly rise from the take-off position to a forward flight position, thereby minimizing the necessity for a larger electric fan engine.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising: a tiltable primary engine configured to produce thrust for forward flight and thrust for hovering, said tiltable primary engine being disposed on a center of gravity of said aircraft and vertically tiltable with res

What is claimed is: 1. A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising: a tiltable primary engine configured to produce thrust for forward flight and thrust for hovering, said tiltable primary engine being disposed on a center of gravity of said aircraft and vertically tiltable with respect to an aircraft center line; a plurality of electrically-driven fans arranged about a periphery of an airframe of the VTOL aircraft, said plurality of electrically-driven fans consisting of (i) a first fan disposed at a nose of the VTOL aircraft, (ii) a second fan disposed at a left wing tip of the VTOL aircraft, and (iii) a third fan disposed at a right wing tip of the VTOL aircraft, the second fan and the third fan each being disposed closer to a tip than a root of the respective wing, said plurality of electrically-driven fans being disposed equidistant from said aircraft center of gravity; wherein airflow provided by each of the electrically-driven fans is oriented substantially perpendicular to the fuselage of the VTOL aircraft for producing thrust for hovering; a thrust control circuit in communication with each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans, wherein the thrust control circuit is configured to independently control the thrust for hovering provided by each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans to alter a total thrust for hovering provided by the plurality of electrically-driven fans and to alter pitch and roll moments of the VTOL aircraft while hovering; a plurality of vanes located in a fan exhaust of each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans; and an attitude control circuit in communication with each of the plurality of vanes and the thrust control circuit, wherein the attitude control circuit is configured to independently control deflection of each of the plurality of vanes for re-directing the thrust for hovering provided by each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans to control a yaw moment of the VTOL aircraft while hovering. 2. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the primary engine is configured to be tilted to a position substantially perpendicular to the fuselage of the VTOL aircraft to produce thrust for hovering. 3. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein a nozzle of the primary engine is configured to be re-directed to produce thrust for hovering. 4. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans comprises an airflow area that is greater than the primary engine. 5. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrically-driven fans are oriented such that the airflow provided by the plurality of electrically-driven fans prevents re-ingestion of exhaust from the primary engine into an air inlet of the primary engine. 6. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrically-driven fans are oriented such that the airflow provided by the plurality of electrically-driven fans prevents high-speed exhaust from the primary engine from creating a low pressure region under the VTOL aircraft while the VTOL aircraft is grounded. 7. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust control circuit controls the thrust for hovering provided by each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans by varying a RPM of a respective electrically-driven fan. 8. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust control circuit controls the thrust for hovering provided by each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans by varying a fan rotor pitch of a respective electrically-driven fan. 9. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust control circuit controls the thrust for hovering provided by each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans by deflecting drag-producing flaps located in the fan exhaust of a respective electrically-driven fan. 10. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vanes are oriented with pivot axes substantially radial to a center of mass of the VTOL aircraft. 11. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vanes are oriented with pivot axes substantially parallel to the fuselage of the VTOL aircraft. 12. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein electricity for powering each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans is provided by an electrical generator powered by the primary engine. 13. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the primary engine comprises a fuel-powered engine. 14. The VTOL aircraft of claim 13, wherein the fuel-powered engine comprises a turbo jet engine. 15. The VTOL aircraft of claim 13, wherein the fuel-powered engine comprises a turbo fan engine. 16. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrically-driven fans comprises three electrically-driven fans. 17. The VTOL aircraft of claim 16, wherein the three electrically-driven fans are located at substantially equally-spaced angles about a center of the VTOL aircraft. 18. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein electricity for powering each of the plurality of electrically-driven fans is provided by an electricity storage unit associated with the plurality of electrically-driven fans. 19. The VTOL aircraft of claim 18, wherein the electricity storage unit comprises batteries. 20. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft, comprising: a plurality of electrically-driven fans consisting of (i) a first electrically-driven fan disposed at a nose of the aircraft and configured to provide vertical downward thrust; (ii) a second electrically-driven fan disposed at an end of a left wing of the aircraft and configured to provide vertical downward thrust; and (iii) a third electrically-driven fan disposed at an end of a right wing of the aircraft and configured to provide vertical downward thrust; and a tiltable internal-combustion engine disposed on a center of gravity of the aircraft and equidistant from said first, second, and third electrically-driven fans and configured to provide downward thrust and forward thrust, said tiltable internal-combustion engine being vertically tiltable in a plane passing through a central axis of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft. 21. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, wherein said tiltable internal-combustion engine is disposed substantially at an aircraft center of gravity. 22. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, wherein said engine comprises an internal combustion engine tiltable between a horizontal, forward-facing position, and a vertical upward-facing position. 23. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, wherein said engine is disposed substantially centrally of said first, second, and third electrically-driven fans. 24. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, further comprising, for each electrically-driven fan, a fan door configured to be open during hover and closed during horizontal flight. 25. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, wherein said first, second, and third electrically-driven fans are mounted stationary. 26. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20 wherein each fan comprises a reversible fan. 27. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, wherein each fan includes a controller. 28. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, further comprising a flight control computer having an air volume control circuit configured to control a tilt angle of said tiltable internal-combustion engine. 29. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, wherein the left and right wings are disposed with a negative dihedral angle. 30. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, wherein the left and right wings are disposed with a zero dihedral angle. 31. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, wherein said engine is tiltable about a substantially horizontal axis. 32. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 31, wherein said horizontal axis is substantially perpendicular to a centerline of the aircraft. 33. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 20, further comprising a left wing vane disposed on said left wing substantially adjacent said second electrically-driven fan, and a right wing vane disposed on said right wing substantially adjacent said third electrically-driven fan. 34. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 33, further comprising a nose vane disposed on said nose substantially adjacent said first electrically-driven fan.