Textron Innovations Inc.

Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.

Bell Textron Inc.

Kirk Landon Groninga

Daniel Bryan Robertson

Matthew Edward Louis

Steven Ray Ivans

Frank B Stamps

Brent Chadwick Ross

Carlos Alexander Fenny

John T Lloyd

Danielle Lynn Moore

Michael John Ryan

Jason Paul Hurst

Robert Glenn Vaughn

Brent Randal Achttien

William Benjamin Johns

Troy Cyril Schank

Eric Albert Sinusas

Jouyoung Jason Choi

Albert Gerard Brand

Dudley E Smith

Levi Charles Hefner

Brett Rodney Zimmerman

Nicholas Ralph Carlson

Chad Lewis Jarrett

Berlin Benfield

Cory M Hitte

Paul Charles Griffiths

Mark E Dreier

Andrea Chavez

Matthew Ryan Carr

Brad Joseph Passe

Steve R Schafer

Danielle L Edwards

Steve Ray Ivans

Frank Bradley Stamps

Michael J Ryan

Matthew R Carr

An exemplary tiltrotor aircraft having a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) flight mode and a forward flight mode includes tiltable rotors located at forward boom ends, tiltable ducted fans located at wings aft of the forward boom ends, and aft rotors located on aft boom portions.

VTOL aircraft with tilting rotors and tilting ducted fans

A vehicle includes a first rotor system having a rotor blade having an axis of rotation, a rotatable inboard drive component, and a rotatable outboard drive component. The first rotor system further includes a flexible closed loop component associated with each of the inboard drive component and the outboard drive component. Movement of the closed loop component can selectively cause at least one of rotation of the rotor blade about the axis of rotation and movement of the axis of rotation.

Rotor system with belt driven propulsion and stowing

A rotating pylon assembly for aircraft thrust vectoring control. In embodiments, the rotating pylon assembly of embodiments includes a rotating sleeve disposed within a fixed boom of the aircraft, and configured to support a rotor assembly. The rotating pylon assembly includes a bearing assembly configured to functionally couple the rotating sleeve against an inner surface of the fixed boom. The bearing assembly enables the rotating sleeve to rotate against the inner surface of the fixed boom and about a longitudinal axis of the fixed boom. An actuator is configured to rotate the rotating sleeve about the longitudinal axis of the fixed boom. The rotating sleeve may cause the rotor assembly to be rotated or swung about the longitudinal axis of the fixed boom to position the rotor assembly in a position to vector the thrust provided by the rotor assembly based on a control command.

Thrust vectoring pylon arrangement and method therefor

Embodiments include an aircraft comprising a fuselage; a wing connected to the fuselage; and first and second propulsion systems connected to the wing on opposite sides of the fuselage, wherein at least a portion of each of the first and second propulsion systems and at least a portion of the wing are tiltable between a first position in which the aircraft is in a hover mode and a second position in which the aircraft is in a cruise mode, wherein each of the propulsion systems includes pylon and a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of rotor blades.

Electric tiltrotor aircraft

A differential thrust vectoring system includes a first thruster, a second thruster, a main actuator, and a trim actuator. The system is configured such that actuation of the main actuator causes rotation of the thrusters together about an axis, whereas actuation of the trim actuator causes relative rotation of the first and second thrusters about the axis.

Differential thrust vectoring system

One embodiment is an aircraft including a fuselage; a wing connected to the fuselage; first and second booms connected to the wing on opposite sides of the fuselage; first and second forward propulsion systems attached to forward ends of the first and second booms; first and second aft propulsion systems fixedly attached proximate aft ends of the first and second booms; first and second wing-mounted propulsion systems connected to outboard ends of wings; and first and second wing tips fixedly connected to outboard sides of the first and second wing-mounted propulsion systems; wherein the first and second wing-mounted propulsion systems and the first and second wing tips are collectively tiltable between a first position when the aircraft is in a hover mode and a second position when the aircraft is in a cruise mode.

Tilting hexrotor aircraft

According to one implementation of the present disclosure, a rotorcraft includes a fuselage, an airframe, a main rotor, first and second wings, and a wing rotation system. The wing rotation system may be coupled to the first and the second wings and includes a first drive shaft, a second drive shaft, and a uniform actuator. The first drive shaft may be coupled to the first wing for rotation around a central wing axis, the second drive shaft may be coupled to the second wing for rotation around the central wing axis, and the uniform actuator may be coupled between the first drive shaft and the airframe. Also, the wing rotation system can be configured to actuate rotation of the first and the second wings from a first direction to a second direction.

Tilting wing rotorcrafts and wing rotation systems

An aircraft includes a fuselage and a wing assembly that is rotatable between a substantially perpendicular orientation relative to the fuselage in flight modes and a substantially parallel orientation relative to the fuselage in a wing stowage mode. The wing assembly includes a wing that is pivotable between forward flight and VTOL orientations by a pivot angle. A distributed thrust array is coupled to the wing that includes outboard and inboard propulsion assemblies, each propulsion assembly having an axis of rotation that has a fixed angle relative to a chord axis of the wing. In a VTOL flight mode, the axis of rotation of each propulsion assembly is substantially vertical and the wing is in the VTOL orientation. In a forward flight mode, the wing is in the forward flight orientation and the axis of rotation of each propulsion assembly is tilted forward from the vertical by the pivot angle.

Variable incidence wing aircraft having a wing stowage mode

A vehicle has a pod carrier, a pod rotatably connected to the pod carrier, and an energy attenuating system (EAS) disposed between the pod and the pod carrier to attenuate forces associated with a deflection of the pod relative to the pod carrier. A method of operating an energy attenuating system (EAS) is provided for attenuating energy associated with movement between a pod and a pod carrier. The method includes providing a vehicle having a pod carrier and providing the pod carrier with an EAS configured in an undeflected state.

Energy attenuating pod carrier system for vertical lift aircraft

A dual-motor system includes a first motor rotationally coupled to a first drive shaft. The first drive shaft is coupled to a common shaft couplable to a rotationally driveable member. The dual-motor system also includes a second motor rotationally coupled to a second drive shaft. The second drive shaft is coupled to the common shaft. The first motor and the second motor are coaxially aligned with the first drive shaft passing through the second drive shaft.

Dual motor input with overrunning clutch

One embodiment is an aircraft operable in a hover mode and a cruise mode and including a fuselage; wings connected on opposite sides of the fuselage; a canard connected to the fuselage forward of the wings; forward propulsion systems connected to a trailing edge of the canard on opposite sides of the fuselage; aft propulsion systems connected to trailing edges of the wings; and wing-mounted propulsion systems connected to leading edges of the wings. The aft propulsion systems are tiltable between a first position when the aircraft is in the hover mode and a second position when the aircraft is in the cruise mode. Each of the propulsion systems includes a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of rotor blades. The propulsion systems are substantially equidistant from a center of gravity (CG) of the aircraft.

An aircraft includes a fuselage and a wing system having first and second oppositely disposed wings that extend laterally from the fuselage. A tiltable propulsion system is rotatably coupled to the fuselage between the first and second wings. The tiltable propulsion system includes a frame system having four diagonally extending arms each having a propulsion assembly coupled thereto. A flight control system is configured to independently control each of the propulsion assemblies and the orientation of the tiltable propulsion system. In a VTOL flight mode of the aircraft, the tiltable propulsion system is substantially perpendicular to the aircraft's yaw axis in a vertical thrust orientation such that the propulsion assemblies are configured to provide vertical thrust. In a forward cruise flight mode of the aircraft, the tiltable propulsion system is substantially perpendicular to the aircraft's roll axis in a forward thrust orientation such that the propulsion assemblies provide forward thrust.

Long-endurance aircraft having tiltable propulsion

Growing community of inventors

Keller, TX, United States of America

Kirk Landon Groninga