Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

The Sherwin Williams Company

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Sirorsky Aircraft Corporation

Mark Winfield Scott

Justin J Thomas

David C Markham

Michael H Bravo

Craig M Rowles

John P Sullivan

Chris Van Buiten

Gregory J Mascoli

Robert Slack

W Douglas Kinkead

James P Cycon

Christopher W DeWitt

Corinna Lee

Brian Ernest Wake

Fabio Paolo Bertolotti

Duane C Mccormick

Steven D Weiner

Michael Peter Strauss

T Alan Egolf

Igor Cherepinsky

Timothy Fred Lauder

Anthony Litwinowicz

William J Eadie

Brandon L Stille

John Knag

Cody Fegely

Stuart S Ochs

Anthony Zbigniew Stobiecki

Krzysztof Kopanski

Matthew J Tarascio

Daniel Caleb Sargent

Michael Strauss

James Rigsby

Colin Kemater Bunting

Leslie Schweizer

Stephen M Gatto

Steven J Brainard

David R Houy

Jonathan D Hartman

Ebru Usta

Corrina Lee

An aircraft includes an airframe, and a coaxial main rotor assembly including a static mast and an upper rotor assembly and a lower rotor assembly rotatable about a main rotor axis defined by the static mast. The upper rotor assembly and the lower rotor assembly are independently rotatable about the static mast. A propulsion system includes at least one propulsion source for directly driving at least one of the upper rotor assembly and the lower rotor assembly and a flight control system is operably coupled to the propulsion system. The flight control system is operable to independently control a rotational speed of the upper rotor assembly and the lower rotor assembly relative to the static mast.

Electric vertical take off and landing vehicle

A rotor blade for a rotary aircraft is disclosed. The rotor blade includes a body and an airflow duct extending within the body of the rotor blade. An airflow outlet of the airflow duct is located at a tip of the blade. The airflow outlet has a cross-sectional area that is equal to or greater than a cross-sectional area of the airflow duct. The rotor blade is used to mitigate brownout during flight. Air exits the rotor blade at the airflow outlet in order to disrupt a blade vortex created by rotation of the rotor blade.

Tip jet orifice for aircraft brown out mitigation

A flying wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft includes an empennageless-fuselage from which foldable wings extend outwardly, an empennageless-nacelle supported on each of the wings and a rigid rotor propeller disposed on each empennageless-nacelle, each of the propellers being drivable to rotate about only a single rotational axis defined along a longitudinal axis of the corresponding empennageless-nacelle and being fully cyclically controllable.

Flying wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft

A rotary winged aircraft includes an airframe and a drive system located at the airframe. A main rotor system is positioned at the airframe and is operably connected to the drive system to provide lift for the rotary winged aircraft. An auxiliary propulsor is located at the airframe and includes a plurality of propeller blades rotatable about a propulsor axis. Collective and cyclic pitch input applied to the auxiliary propeller blades increases yaw performance of the aircraft. A method of operating a rotary wing aircraft includes powering an auxiliary propulsor secured to an airframe of the aircraft and including a plurality of propeller blades rotatable about a propulsor axis. Individual propeller blades are cyclically rotated about their respective propeller blade axes to cyclically change a propeller blade pitch. Rotation of the aircraft about a yaw axis is induced via the collective and cyclic pitch change of the propeller blades.

Directional control for coaxial rotary wing craft

A system for a tail-sitter aircraft includes a fuselage having one or more propellers, a wing structure coupled to the fuselage, and a drag rudder assembly coupled to the wing structure, the drag rudder assembly including a first planar member that is coupled to a second planar member. The drag rudder assembly is configured to produce a stabilizing force on the wing structure during higher speeds of the aircraft in tandem rotor flight.

Vertical take-off and landing drag rudder

A rotor assembly for a rotary wing aircraft includes a plurality of rotor blades operably connected to a rotor shaft. Two or more active adaptive devices are located at one or more rotor blades of the plurality of rotor blades. The one or more active adaptive devices are operably connected to an aircraft flight control system such that, when activated, the one or more active adaptive devices change one or more operational characteristics of the rotor assembly. A method of operating a rotor assembly of a rotary wing aircraft includes rotating a plurality of rotor blades about a rotor shaft. Two or more active adaptive devices located at one or more rotor blades of the plurality of rotor blades are activated and change one or more operational characteristics of the rotor assembly.

Mission adaptive rotor blade

Embodiments are directed to causing, by a computing device comprising a processor, a rotating tail rotor to operate in a tail rotor mode when an aircraft is operating at a speed less than a rudder control power threshold, receiving, by the computing device, a command that indicates a request to transition the aircraft, determining, by the computing device, that a rudder of the aircraft has control power in an amount greater than a second threshold based on receiving the command, and causing, by the computing device, the rotating tail rotor to operate in a pusher propeller mode based on determining that the rudder has control power in the amount greater than the second threshold.

Automated rotating tail rotor control

A rotary wing aircraft includes an airfame and an extending tail extending from the airframe. A main rotor assembly is operably connected to the airframe and includes a plurality of rotor blades operably connected to a rotor shaft, and one or more active adaptive devices located at one or more rotor blades of the plurality of rotor blades. The one or more active adaptive devices are operably connected to an aircraft flight control system such that, when activated, the one or more active adaptive devices change one or more operational characteristics of the rotor assembly. A tail rotor is operably connected to the extending tail. The tail rotor is rotatable about a tail rotor axis and the tail rotor axis movable from laterally-extending to rearward-extending.

High speed compound rotary wing aircraft

A rotor blade for a rotary wing aircraft includes a component bay located substantially enclosed in the rotor blade and one or more components positioned in the component bay. An airflow is located at the component bay and an airflow outlet is located at the component bay radially outboard of the airflow inlet. The airflow inlet and airflow outlet allow a continuous airflow through the component bay via centrifugal forces of rotation of the rotor blade, the continuous airflow cooling the one or more components disposed at the component bay.

Rotor blade component cooling

An interactive aircraft load management system automates calculation and provides simulation capability to changes in an aircraft C.G. limit for display on a three-dimensional aircraft symbology. The aircraft load management system also communicates with a fly by wire (FBW) flight control system wherein the aircraft's control system is programmed to automatically compensate for C.G. excursions and to alter control laws. The aircraft load management system also selectively reels-in and reels out sling lines as the aircraft pitches and rolls to maintain a load vector from a slung load along the aircraft centerline. Load vector travel is accomplished by coupling a winch control system into the flight control system.

System and method for improved rotary-wing aircraft performance with interior/external loads

An improved container for storing, dispensing and handling viscous and semi-viscous fluids such as paint and the like, having novel spout and other design features that enable substantially dripless dispensing and improved handling and storage.

Storage and dispensing container for paint

A rotor hub fairing system includes an upper hub fairing, a lower hub fairing and a shaft fairing therebetween. The rotor hub fairing system reduces the total drag on a dual, counter-rotating, coaxial rotor system. Other aerodynamic structures may be mounted to the shaft fairing, hub fairings and airframe to facilitate flow around the upper and lower hub fairings to reduce flow separation and drag.

Rotor hub fairing system for a counter-rotating, coaxial rotor system

A rotor hub fairing system includes an upper hub fairing, a lower hub fairing and a shaft fairing therebetween. The rotor hub fairing system is sized and configured to reduce the overall drag on a dual, counter-rotating, coaxial rotor system. Preferably, the rotor hub fairing is fully integrated. The shaft fairing preferably includes a minimal thickness at the midsection to reduce drag with an increasing thickness adjacent the upper and lower hub fairings to reduce the flow separation on the hub fairing surfaces without overly excessive drag. Other aerodynamic structures, such as a horizontal splitter and/or a plurality of turning vanes may be mounted to the shaft fairing to facilitate flow around the upper and lower hub fairings to reduce flow separation and drag.

A dual, counter rotating, coaxial rotor system provides an upper and lower rotor system, with a reduced axial rotor separation distance along a common axis by way of rotor tip position sensing and rotor position controls to avoid tip contact.

Compact co-axial rotor system for a rotary wing aircraft and a control system therefor

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Bethany, CT, United States of America

Mark Winfield Scott