Wisk Aero LLC

Kitty Hawk Corporation

Neel Vora

Pranay Sinha

Ilan Kroo

Eric Allison

Marshall Gusman

Jim Bungener

Embodiments of the invention are directed to improving efficiency on an aircraft. The aircraft can include at least one propulsion system with one or more strakes attached to a spinner and positioned adjacent to the root portion of one or more corresponding rotor blades. The strakes can be configured to align with the rotor blades when the rotor blades are set to a cruising pitch position.

Aerodynamic rotor blade strake

Embodiments provide a VTOL aircraft including a plurality of tilting propeller assemblies each coupled to a support structure and configured to transition between a vertical flight and a forward flight position. Each tilting propeller assembly comprising a propeller and a movable fairing provided downstream of the propeller. The movable fairing is configured to extend along an axis of rotation of the propeller. When the tilting propeller assembly transitions between the vertical and forward flight position, the movable fairing is configured to swivel to extend parallel to the direction of resultant airflow over the tilting propeller assembly into a minimum drag orientation. The movable fairing is damped enough to prevent any oscillations from the propeller wake shedding, and at the same time, keep the propeller aligned in a minimum-drag orientation with the resultant flow.

Integrated propeller-boom fairing

A flight control system is disclosed. In various embodiments, a flight control system includes a data storage device configured to store an aerodynamic model; and a processor coupled to the data storage device and configured to use the aerodynamic model to determine a set of actuators and for each actuator in the set a corresponding set of one or more actuator parameters to achieve a desired set of forces and moments. The aerodynamic model provides for each actuator in the set of actuator corresponding force and moment data for each of a first set of operating conditions based on a first set of simulations performed by varying one or more actuator parameters while holding other actuators at a baseline value and a second set of simulations to determine interactions between the actuator and said other actuators under each of a second set of operating conditions.

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San Mateo, CA, United States of America

Neel Vora