Aircraft with displaceable control surface
AssigneeTextron Innovations Inc.
InventorPascal Flynn-Robitaille
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An aircraft includes a wing and a rotor pod mounted to the wing. The rotor pod includes a body having a forward end and an aft end. A propeller is mounted to the body of the rotor pod at the forward end. A control surface is mounted to the body of the rotor pod between the forward and aft ends and extends outwardly from the body. The control surface is displaceable relative to the body between a first control configuration and a second control configuration to control an attitude of the aircraft. The control surface in the first control configuration is closer to the propeller than the control surface in the second control configuration.
Claims19
An aircraft, comprising:
- a wing;
- a rotor pod mounted to the wing, the rotor pod including a body having a forward end and an aft end, and extending along a longitudinal pod axis;
- a propeller mounted to the body of the rotor pod at the forward end;
- and
- a control surface mounted to the body of the rotor pod downstream of the propeller and extending outwardly from the body, the control surface having a leading edge and a trailing edge extending outwardly from the body, the control surface being displaceable relative to the body between a first control configuration and a second control configuration, the control surface being further from the propeller in the second control configuration than in the first control configuration, the control surface being rotatable relative to the body about a transverse pod axis extending transversely to the longitudinal pod axis to position one of the leading edge and the trailing edge facing forwardly in the first control configuration and rearwardly in the second control configuration.
A method of operating an aircraft including a wing and a rotor pod mounted to the wing, the rotor pod having a body with a forward end and an aft end and a longitudinal pod axis, a propeller mounted to the body at the forward end and a control surface mounted to the body downstream of the propeller and extending outwardly from the body, the method comprising:
- rotating the control surface relative to the body about an axis transverse to the longitudinal pod axis to position the control surface relative to the propeller in a first control configuration;
- and
- rotating the control surface relative to the body about the axis transverse to the longitudinal pod axis to position the control surface in a second control configuration in which the control surface is further from the propeller than the control surface is in the first control configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.