Abstract: The present invention comprises an apparatus for locking both rotor blades of a rotor/wing aircraft at a common point to form a rigid wing having a uniform bilateral aerodynamic response. In one embodiment of the present invention the rotor blades of a rotor/wing aircraft are locked together to form a rigid wing assembly. This is accomplished by locking the blades together by a locking mechanism that engages when the rotor speed drops below a certain threshold. With the rotor blades locked together, the wing assembly can then be locked in position with the appropriate pitch angle simply by securing the pitch link of the rotor blade that is oriented at the leading edge of the fixed wing. In another embodiment of the invention the blades are locked directly to the rotor by two locking mechanisms that engage the hub directly.

Abstract: An aircraft having a reduced-load wing structure is provided with a controllable canard stabilizer (5G, 5D) at the front end of the aircraft and a controller that controls the canard stabilizer. The controller generates a turn command corresponding to an increase in the lift of the canard stabilizer when, simultaneously, the turn command applied by the pilot to the elevational control surfaces (6G, 6D) exceeds a threshold and the measurement of the vertical acceleration of the aircraft exceeds a threshold.

Abstract: A roadable helicopter according to various aspects of the present invention comprises a vehicle that drives like a conventional car in its road configuration, and converts to fly like a helicopter in its flight configuration. The operator of the helicopter only needs to press a button to initiate the conversion from one configuration to the other. To facilitate the flight configuration, the helicopter is preferably equipped with a dual, coaxial counterrotating rotor system to provide lift, propulsion, and control in the flight configuration. In the road configuration, however, the rotor system automatically folds into a rotor bay formed in the rear of the helicopter. The roadable helicopter may also include an automatic control/stability/navigation system that permits fully automatic flight.

Abstract: A launch vehicle which employs a rotor similar to a helicopter. The vehicle has a four bladed rotor which is mounted on the vehicle body. The body of the vehicle includes propellant tanks and a payload compartment contained within an integral aeroshell. Rocket engines used to propel the vehicle into earth orbit are mounted at the ends of the rotor blades. The engines are connected by propellant feed lines to a propellant transfer hub surrounding the axis of rotation of the rotor. Propellants are fed from an oxidizer tank and a fuel tank through a propellant transfer coupling to oxidizer and fuel lines which extend to the engines at the rotor blades ends. The rotor blades incorporate air foils. To operate the vehicle the vehicle is positioned on a concrete or asphalt pad and fueled with liquid oxygen and kerosene. The engine are positioned tangent to the blade paths and ignited.

Abstract: An aircraft adapted for flight in helicopter mode with its longitudinal axis oriented generally vertically and in airplane mode with its longitudinal axis oriented generally horizontally is provided with the capability of launching and landing with the tail end directed skyward. The invention also includes improvements to the controllability and efficiency of aircraft in helicopter mode provided by the stabilizer wings and relative rotation of the fuselage section about the aircraft's longitudinal axis. The aircraft has an elongate boom positioned between the rear fuselage and the stabilizer wings for engagement with a base structure. The base structure may be attached to a building, a trailer transporter, a ship or some other structure. The base may be a beam having latching arms that swing inward when pressure from the boom is applied, then trap the boom in a recess between the latching arm and beam, thereby suspending the aircraft.

Abstract: A nozzle for use on opposing ends of the rotor of a jet powered tri-mode aircraft is disclosed. The nozzle includes two thermally-controlled doors, which are moveable between an open configuration where hot jet engine exhaust is vented therethrough to propel the rotor in a helicopter mode, and a second closed configuration where the two doors are tightly sealed to provide a stable aerodynamic surface for the rotor when the jet powered tri-mode aircraft is operating in an airplane mode. The two doors are thermally-activated by an internal surrounding temperature, such that they remain open by the hot jet engine exhaust passing thereby in the helicopter mode, and remain shut by resulting cooler air when the hot jet engine exhaust is not routed by the two nozzle doors.

Abstract: The present invention relates in general to aeronautical engineering and concerns specifically transport vehicles for transportation of liquid and loose cargoes. The invention provides an airborne vehicle capable of carrying a multiton cargo from a limited ground area. The object of the invention is accomplished due to the fact that in the airborne vehicle of the present invention the lifting aerodynamic airfoil system is made of two parts, that is, a stationary part in the form of a ring-shaped fuselage 1, consisting of aerodynamic members 2 and 3 curved spanwise, and a movable part in the form of lifting rotor units 6 arranged along the ring perimeter. A power unit of the vehicle comprises a gas-generator, propulsive units, ramjet ducts, and flywheel members interconnected through a reversible rotary-reciprocating engine-supercharger 22 and a fluid converter.

Abstract: A circular wing aircraft in the form of a helicopter comprising a fuselage and a circular wing assembly. A structure is for mounting the circular wing assembly above the fuselage in a stationary manner. An air impeller unit is rotatively carried within the circular wing assembly. A device is for driving the air impeller unit to rotate about a central axis within the circular wing assembly, so as to provide lift and flight movement while yaw control is maintained.

Abstract: A dual-mode high speed rotorcraft is disclosed which combines the efficiency of a helicopter with the high-speed capability of a fixed wing aircraft. The rotorcraft includes a rotor for propulsion during low-speed flight and hover, which is stopped and locked to function as a fixed wing during a high-speed flight. Also included are a canard and a high-lift tail, which together function to provide substantially all of the lift for the rotorcraft during the transition between low and high-speed flight, so that the rotor may be unloaded while starting and stopping.

Abstract: This invention is directed to stopped rotor Flipped Airfoil X-wing (FAX-WING.sup..TM.) aircraft which comprises:(a) A rotary wing flight mode which operates similar to a helicopter, wherein all main rotor airfoils rotate with leading edges into the oncoming airstream (neglecting forward motion) to provide lift, and utilize an anti-torque rotor to cancel main rotor torque. The fixed wing flight mode, including supersonic flight, utilizes all stationary main rotor airfoils for primary lift, such that all airfoil leading edges are positioned forward, meeting the oncoming airstream generated by forward aircraft motion. Two airfoils are forward swept 45 degrees, and the other two airfoils are aft swept 45 degrees. The transition mode for converting from rotary wing to fixed wing flight, and vise-versa, causes two adjacent airfoils to flip 180 degrees (in approximately 1/16 second) about their pitch axis, such that all airfoils have leading edges in the correct orientation for a particular flight mode.

Abstract: Conventional cantilever wings of a tiltrotor aircraft are replaced by a joined-wing configuration that eliminates some major speed-limiting constraints of prior tiltrotor configurations--thereby allowing operation into the intermediate speed range of roughly 350 to 450 knots. Joined wings offer relatively rigid, stiffened support for the additional wing-mounted hardware, and also stiffen the system to resist rotor flutter and other sources of aggravated loading, that are characteristic of tiltrotor craft. Joined wings provide this advantage, however, while simultaneously significantly lowering airfoil thickness--and thereby importantly increasing the drag divergence Mach number, and hence the maximum speed. In addition, some joined-wing configurations have significantly lower rotor-wing downwash interactions in hover.

Abstract: The invention concerns the forming of vertical thrust by rotor blades and their subsequent stopping to act as wings, by changing the angle of of attack of the individual stationary blades during foward flight. The horizontal movement of each blade is independent from one another around the perimeter of the central rotor axis hub, and the opposing diagonal set's move up against each other and interconnect to become an integrated single wing from the two separate blades. A common pivot is utilized across the intersecting edges of the blades comprising the singular wing to have this common pivot hinge between them to allow changes in pitch of the leading and trailing parts of the wing. Such joined blades acting as wings are able to move together to accomplish a variable swing wing movement that would include swept foward and back configurations and infinite changes of their attitude between those two extreme positions.

Abstract: Folded helicopter blades are secured against undesirable motion by a device that attaches to a receptacle in the underside of each blade. The device comprises a pin for engaging the receptacle, a spherical bearing disposed about the pin, an annular housing disposed about the bearing and including two diametrically opposed recesses therein, a primary strut attached at one end to the fuselage and at the other end to a clevis-type yoke, wherein the yoke ends are pivotally attached to the housing within the recesses, a secondary strut attached at one end to the fuselage and attached at the other end to the primary strut near the yoke. This arrangement forms a three bar linkage.

Abstract: A toy aircraft having a rotatable wing assembly having at least two blades of aerofoil cross-section extending radially outwardly from the axis of rotation of the assembly, each blade having a zero pitch angle so that in operation the blades have a negative pitch angle relative to the airstream.

Abstract: Autogyro rotor comprises blades radiating outwardly from central disc structure. Disc structure extends over substantial part of the area of the rotor to increase lifting forces provided by rotor and may be shaped to produce aerodynamic lift on forward movement of rotor. Specifically, disc structure may include annular section of aerofoil cross-section surrounded by smaller annular section to produce similar effect to conventional aircraft wing flaps and slots. Blades are carried on shafts journalled in tubes extending out through disc structure and there is also disclosed a pitch control mechanism for rotating the shafts in the tubes to vary pitch of the blades.

Abstract: An aircraft having a rotor wing which in one position is locked against the irframe for forward flight, and in another position is extended clear of the airframe. In the extended position the wing is rotated and the tip portions are controllable in the manner of a helicopter rotor. A single power source provides propulsive and wing rotation power. In the preferred form the power source is a turbojet engine and the wing is rotated by a tip jet powered drive beam, separated from the wing to avoid aerodynamic interference. For forward flight the drive beam is enclosed in the airframe as the wing is retracted to fixed position.