Abstract: An aircraft includes an onboard power supply, an empennage assembly, and a horizontal main wing each connected to a fuselage, and a vertical cross-wing arranged orthogonally with respect to the main wing. Flight control surfaces are arranged on the empennage assembly, vertical cross-wing, and horizontal main wing. A distributed propulsion system includes a first pair of propellers connected to the horizontal main wing and a second pair of propellers connected to the vertical cross-wing. Each of the propellers is connected to and powered by the power supply. Each propeller forms an acute canting angle with respect to an axis of the particular horizontal main wing or the vertical cross-wing to which the propeller is connected. The flight modes may include vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), hover mode, rapid descent, and forward and backward flight modes. The propellers are unpowered during the rapid descent mode.

Abstract: An aircraft wing configuration for a vertical or a short take-off and landing aircraft having a plurality of propeller-blown wings mounted at different longitudinal locations along a fuselage of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft, producing two or more lifting surfaces, fixed at a predetermined acute wing angle greater than 0° and substantially less than 90° relative to a horizontal plane, and having a plurality of flaps disposed behind the wings. The configuration has a plurality of propellers distributed in front of the plurality of wings producing two or more lifting surfaces and mounted such that the wings are externally blown by forced airstreams from the propellers. The propellers produce distributed thrust components, and the plurality of flaps are in the forced airstreams of the propellers when one or more of the flaps is in an extended position.

Abstract: An aircraft wing configuration for a vertical or a short take-off and landing aircraft having a plurality of propeller-blown wings mounted at different longitudinal locations along a fuselage of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft, producing two or more lifting surfaces, fixed at a predetermined acute wing angle greater than 0° and substantially less than 90° relative to a horizontal plane, and having a plurality of flaps disposed behind the wings. The configuration has a plurality of propellers distributed in front of the plurality of wings producing two or more lifting surfaces and mounted such that the wings are externally blown by forced airstreams from the propellers. The propellers produce distributed thrust components, and the plurality of flaps are in the forced airstreams of the propellers when one or more of the flaps is in an extended position.