Textron Systems Corporation

Daniel Thomas Otradovec

Sean Marshall Baity

Graham W Schill

David D Billingsley

Brad S Galloway

Richard M Chapman

Jordan Lynn Black

Alexander Foster Scott

An aircraft employs articulated, variable-position electric rotors having different operating configurations and transitions therebetween, as well as variable-pitch airfoils or blades, for generating vectored thrust in the different configurations. Control circuitry generates rotor position signals and blade pitch signals to independently control rotor thrust, rotor orientation and rotor blade pitch of the variable-position rotors in a manner providing (i) the transitions among the operating configurations for corresponding flight modes of the aircraft, which may include both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) mode as well as a forward-flight mode, and (ii) commanded thrust-vectoring maneuvering of the aircraft in the different configurations, including tailoring blade pitch to optimize aspects of aircraft performance.

Variable pitch rotor assembly for electrically driven vectored thrust aircraft applications

A fuel delivery system has a tank, a fuel pump, and an air filtering apparatus coupled with the tank and the fuel pump. The air filtering apparatus includes a housing that defines a housing chamber, a fuel flow controller coupled with the housing, and a passive separator disposed within the housing chamber. The passive separator is constructed and arranged to separate air and fuel of a fuel mixture passively while the fuel mixture enters the housing chamber from the tank and while filtered fuel exits the housing chamber toward the fuel pump in response to operation of the fuel flow controller. Such a system is well-suited for supplying fuel to a combustion engine in which consistent fuel pressure may be critical. Furthermore, the passive separator alleviates the need for a power source for active air and fuel separation, a control mechanism, and so on.

Using a passive separator to separate air and fuel of a fuel mixture passively when delivering fuel to a combustion engine of an unmanned aerial vehicle

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Forest Hill, MD, United States of America

Daniel Thomas Otradovec