초록 ▼

A vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft with a single proprotor assembly that has a pair of inline counter-rotating rotors. Two inline counter-rotating engines are directly connected to the rotors. One engine is shut down in horizontal flight to improve efficiency. Gimbal mounting the proprot

A vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft with a single proprotor assembly that has a pair of inline counter-rotating rotors. Two inline counter-rotating engines are directly connected to the rotors. One engine is shut down in horizontal flight to improve efficiency. Gimbal mounting the proprotor assembly permits thrust to be directed forward to back and left to right to control pitch and roll when hovering. Varying the relative engine speeds controls yaw. The aircraft is adaptable as an unmanned vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode comprising: a fuselage having a starboard side and a port side;a pair of wing sections each extending from each of the port and starboard sides of the fuselage

1. A vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode comprising: a fuselage having a starboard side and a port side;a pair of wing sections each extending from each of the port and starboard sides of the fuselage;a thrust assembly attached between the wing sections and further affixed so as to be rotatable about a primarily lateral axis from a vertical position to a horizontal position during conversion between the vertical hover mode and the horizontal flight mode and from a horizontal position to a vertical position during reconversion between the horizontal flight mode and the vertical hover mode, the thrust assembly comprising: a first fan and a second fan;a first engine and a second engine;wherein the pair of fans are counter-rotating, andwherein the pair of engines are counter rotating, each engine having an output connected to one of the inline counter-rotating fans and not connected to the other of the inline counter rotating fans;wherein the fans and engines are positioned coaxially and inline such that the fist fan and second fan are located on opposite ends of the thrust assembly and the first engine and second engine such that the output of the first engine is connected to the first fan, and the second engine is connected to the second fan; andwherein the relative speed of the inline counter-rotating engines is controlled such that a difference in speed between the engines creates an imbalance in the torque produced by each engine and fan, the imbalance in the torque produced by each engine and fan being operative to control yaw of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft. 2. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust assembly is mounted so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft when the thrust assembly is in the vertical position such that: rotation of the thrust assembly about the lateral axis provides a change in direction of the thrust to contain a longitudinal component, thereby permitting control of pitch of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft, and;rotation of the thrust assembly about the longitudinal axis provides a change in direction of the thrust to contain a lateral component, thereby permitting control of roll of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft. 3. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, wherein one of the engines is turned off in horizontal flight mode. 4. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, further comprising; flight controls for controlling the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft pitch, roll and yaw, and;an automatic feedback control mechanism for stabilizing flight characteristics of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft when in vertical hover mode. 5. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the engines are internal combustion engines. 6. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the engines are electric motors. 7. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft further comprises a radio control receiver for receiving control signals from a remote control unit. 8. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft wherein the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft is of a tilt-rotor or tilt-propeller type. 9. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft wherein the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft is of a tilt-wing type. 10. A vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode comprising: two fuselages, each fuselage having an inboard side and an outboard side;a wing section extending laterally from the outboard sides of the fuselages;a thrust assembly attached between the inboard sides of the fuselages, the thrust assembly being further affixed so as to be rotatable about a lateral axis from a vertical position to a horizontal position during conversion between the vertical hover mode and the horizontal flight mode and from a horizontal position to a vertical position during reconversion between the horizontal flight mode and the vertical hover mode, the thrust assembly comprising; a first fan and a second engine;a first engine and a second engine;wherein the pair of fans are counter-rotating, andwherein the pair of engines are counter rotating, each engine having an output connected to one of the fans and not connected to the other of the fans;wherein the fans and engines are positioned coaxially and inline such that the first fan and second fan are located on opposite ends of the thrust assembly and the first engine and second engine such that the output of the first engine is connected to the first fan, and the second engine is connected to the second fan; andwherein the relative speed of the inline counter-rotating motors is controlled such that a difference in speed between the motors creates an imbalance in the torque produced by each motor, the imbalance in the torque produced by each motor being operative to control the yaw of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft. 11. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 10, wherein the thrust assembly is mounted so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft when the thrust assembly is in the vertical position such that; rotation of the thrust assembly about the lateral axis provides a change in direction of the thrust to contain a forward or backward component, thus permitting control of the pitch of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft, and;rotation of the thrust assembly about the longitudinal axis provides a change in direction of the thrust to contain a left or right component, thus permitting control of the roll of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft. 12. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 10, wherein one of the inline counter-rotating engines is turned off in horizontal flight. 13. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 10, further comprising; flight controls for controlling the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft pitch, roll and yaw, and;an automatic feedback control mechanism for stabilizing flight characteristics of the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft when in vertical hover mode. 14. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 10, wherein the inline counter-rotating engines are electric motors. 15. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft of claim 10, wherein the vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft is a remote controlled aircraft. 16. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode of claim 1, wherein the fans are propellers. 17. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode of claim 1, wherein the fans are rotors with blade-pitch controlled using a swashplate. 18. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first fan or the second fan is connected directly to first or second engine, respectively. 19. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode of claim 10, wherein the fans are propellers. 20. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode of claim 10, wherein the fans are rotors with blade-pitch controlled using a swashplate. 21. The vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft capable of in-flight conversion between a vertical hover mode and a horizontal flight mode of claim 10, wherein at least one of the first fan or the second fan is connected directly to first or second engine, respectively.