United Technologies Corporation

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Stephen J Owen

Robert C Moffitt

David A Lednicer

An airfoil family for a helicopter rotor blade, designated SC362XX. SC362XX essentially removes the large lower surface suction peak associated with 'drag creep' at moderate lift coefficients while reducing the peak Mach number and shock strength at high lift/Mach number conditions. Another optional airfoil family for use at inboard regions of the helicopter rotor, which is designated SC3252XX airfoil family, is a relatively thicker airfoil section that includes a significant increase in thickness forward of the 30% x/c location to provide a relatively thick and rigid inboard section. The lift coefficient at which the drag divergence Mach number was optimized is the same in both families thereby readily providing application to a single rotor blade.

Airfoil for a helicopter rotor blade

An unmanned aerial vehicle having a toroidal fuselage that surrounds a pair of coaxial, multi-bladed, counter-rotating rotors. The toroidal fuselage has an airfoil profile that is optimized to provide high hover efficiency and produce a pressure distribution that provide high lift forces. The airfoil profile is further optimized to counteract the undesirable nose-up pitching moments experienced by ducted rotary-type UAVs in forward translational flight.

Shroud geometry for unmanned aerial vehicles

A family of airfoil cross sections, termed SC21xx, for use in a helicopter blade is disclosed. The airfoil (36) achieves maximum lift performance equivalent to prior art airfoil configurations without incurring increased aerodynamic drag at high velocities. The airfoil (36) was developed by thickening and drooping the leading edge region (38) of the prior art airfoil (30) improving lift in the leading edge region (38) and delaying the formation of sonic shock waves at high velocities.

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Cheshire, CT, United States of America

Stephen J Owen