Leonardo S.p.a.

Agusta S.p.a.

Roberto Vanni

Fabio Nannoni

Michele Delli Paoli

Davide Gagliostro

Davide Casola

Andrea Antoni

An anti-torque rotor is described comprising: a mast rotatable about a first axis; a plurality of blades hinged on the mast and rotatable about respective second axes to vary the respective angles of attack; a control element sliding along the first axis with respect to the mast, rotatable with the mast and connected to the blades to cause the rotation about the second axes; a control mechanism, axially sliding and angularly fixed with respect to the mast; and a connection element interposed between the control mechanism and the control element, sliding integrally with the control mechanism along the mast; the control mechanism comprises a first and a second rod; the rotor comprises a coupling, which is configured to enable/prevent rotation of the second rod with respect to the first rod when the torque exerted by the first connection element on the second rod about the first axis is greater/less than a threshold value in the event of failure of the connection element.

Anti-torque rotor for a helicopter

An anti-torque rotor includes a mast rotatable about a first axis; a plurality of blades extending along respective second axes; and a control element sliding along the first axis with respect to the mast, integrally rotatable with said mast, and connected to said blades. A control rod slides axially along first axis and is angularly fixed with respect to said first axis. A connection element is interposed between the control rod and the control element and is configured to enable the relative rotation of said control element with respect to the control rod about the first axis. A transmission unit is available in an active configuration or an inactive configuration. The transmission unit has an annular ridge axially and angularly integral with the control rod and a seat engaged by the ridge and angularly integral with the control element.

Transmission unit of an anti-torque rotor for a helicopter

A vertical take-off and/or landing aircraft comprising: a fuselage having a longitudinal axis; a pair of semi-wings protruding from the fuselage in a transversal direction with respect to the longitudinal axis; a pair of a predetermined breaking areas of the semi-wings defining respective preferred rupture sections at which the respective semi-wings are designed to break, during operation, in a controlled way moving along a preferred collapse trajectory in the event of impact; and at least one fluidic line configured to convey at least one service fluid from and/or towards at least one said semi-wing and crossing at least one of said preferred rupture sections; the aircraft comprises a self-sealing coupling movable between a first configuration in which it enables the flow of said service fluid from and/or towards the semi-wing, and a second configuration in which it prevents the above-mentioned flow and the spilling of the service fluid from the fluidic line; the self-sealing coupling is movable from the first to the second configuration via the movement of the semi-wing along the preferred collapse trajectory.

Vertical take-off and/or landing aircraft and method for controlling a flow of a fluid along a fluidic line of a vertical take-off and/or landing aircraft

An anti-torque rotor is described for a helicopter, comprising: a mast rotatable about a first axis; a plurality of blades hinged on the mast, extending along respective second axes transversal to said first axis and rotatable about respective said second axes to alter the respective angles of attack; a control element sliding and rotating with respect to the mast, and operatively connected to said blades to cause the rotation of said blades about respective second axes following a translation of said element along the first axis; a control rod sliding axially along first axis with respect to the mast and angularly fixed with respect to the first axis; and a bearing interposed between the control rod and the control element, sliding along the first axis with respect to the mast and integrally with the control rod; the anti-torque rotor further comprises an interface made of an antifriction material interposed between said control rod and said bearing.

A stability and command augmentation system for controlling an aircraft, comprising: a first member moveable by a pilot input device to a first position defining a first input; a second member moveable to a second position associated with a second input; and an adder device configured to add the first and second inputs and supply an output signal defining a command for an element to be controlled of the aircraft; the stability and command augmentation system comprises: a casing, a first and a second piston integrally movable with one another inside the casing and operatively connected to the second member; and control means configured to exert a first force on the first piston and a second force on the second piston; the second force is independent of the first force.

Stability and command augmentation system for an aircraft, and stabilization and control method of an aircraft

An aircraft having at least one in-flight attitude control system, in turn having at least one actuator; and a hydraulic circuit connected to the actuator and having at least one pump designed to deliver a first flow when the pressure of the hydraulic circuit is above a presettable threshold value. The pump is designed to deliver a second flow greater than the first flow, and the aircraft has a sensor for detecting a quantity associated with the pressure of the hydraulic circuit; and a programmable central control unit, which controls the pump to deliver the second flow when the quantity detected by the sensor corresponds to a pressure of the hydraulic circuit below the threshold value.

Growing community of inventors

Samarate, Italy

Roberto Vanni