Lockheed Martin Corporation

Eric S Parsons

Timothy James Conti

Joshua A Breon

Frank M Caputo

William Paul Adams

Christopher Michael Colschen

Benjamin Isabella

Joseph Pantalone, Iii

Christopher Sutton

Daniel Caleb Sargent

Claude George Matalanis

Marc A Antonetz

Evan Medrano

Jared Anapolle

A rotor blade configured to couple to a rotor assembly having an axis of rotation includes a blade radius R between the axis of rotation and an outboard end of the rotor blade when coupled to the rotor assembly. When an inboard end of the rotor blade is coupled to the rotor assembly at about x/R=0.10, between about 18 percent and about 22 percent of the total mass of the rotor blade is located between about x/R=0.88 and about x/R=0.93, x corresponding to a radial location of the rotor blade measured from the axis of rotation.

Tip end joint arrangement for a rotor blade with reconfigurable attributes for structural and aerodynamic tuning

A rotor blade configured to be installed on a rotary wing aircraft includes a spar including an inboard portion extending from a root of the rotor blade to a first spanwise position of the rotor blade and an outboard portion meeting the inboard portion at the first spanwise position. The rotor blade further includes an upper skin and a lower skin coupled the outboard portion of the spar. The first spanwise position is defined by a most inboard point at which the upper and lower skins are coupled to the spar. The inboard portion includes a top layer, a bottom layer, and an inner cavity. The top layer has a substantially constant first thickness and the bottom layer has a substantially constant second thickness, and the distance between an outer surface of the top layer and an outer surface of the bottom layer is substantially constant.

Commonly manufactured rotor blade

A rotor blade configured to be installed on a rotary-wing aircraft includes a main blade body including an inboard end configured to be coupled to a rotor blade hub and an outboard end. The rotor blade includes a blade tip removably coupled to the outboard end of the main blade body, the blade tip including an inner cavity. The rotor blade further includes a tip block including an inboard portion coupled to the outboard end of the main blade body and a cantilevered portion extending beyond the outboard end of the rotor blade and into the inner cavity of the blade tip.

A rotor blade for a rotary wing aircraft includes a leading edge and a trailing edge defining a chordwise direction. The leading edge defines a forward end of the rotor blade and the trailing edge defines an aft end of the rotor blade. The rotor blade has a center of gravity and an aerodynamic center along the chordwise direction. The center of gravity is aft of the aerodynamic center.

Method of stabilizing articulated rotor blade

An electrical conductor assembly for a rotor blade includes a substrate and at least one electrical conductor. The substrate includes an inboard end portion and an outboard end portion. The at least one electrical conductor is attached to the substrate and extends between the inboard end portion and the outboard end portion. The at least one electrical conductor is configured to transmit electricity along a length of the rotor blade. The inboard end portion and the outboard end portion are structured such that when the electrical conductor assembly is installed within the rotor blade, the inboard end portion is securable relative to the rotor blade and the outboard end portion is movable relative to the rotor blade.

Electrical conductor system for a rotor blade and method of manufacturing the electrical conductor system

A method of modifying a rotor blade is provided for a rotor blade including a spar having an inboard portion with a substantially constant overall height, the inboard portion further including a top layer having a substantially constant first thickness and a bottom layer having a substantially constant second thickness. The method includes removing a root portion of the inboard portion to thereby modify the rotor blade and installing a cuff configured to couple to the rotor blade to an aircraft.

A structural member for use in a rotor system which rotates about a rotational axis includes a pin which extends substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis, a filler component positioned adjacent the pin, and a plurality of layers of composite material having fibers oriented lengthwise along a central axis which is perpendicular to the rotational axis. The plurality of fibers in the layers of composite material is wrapped about the pin and the filler component such that the fibers extend along the central axis and the plurality of layers form an opening filled by the filler component and which decreases as a function of distance from the pin along the central axis.

Growing community of inventors

Middlebury, CT, United States of America

Eric S Parsons