System for lift, propulsion and control of an airborne craft
AssigneeNoraero AS
InventorKim Schlunke
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for providing lift, propulsion and control for an aircraft vehicle that facilitates vertical take-off and landing/short take-off and landing operations is described. The system is configured to provide an airfoil that has a leading and a trailing edge, a cross flow fan partially embedded in the airfoil and mounted adjacent to the trailing edge of the airfoil and an exit duct for the cross flow fan to provide distributed flow along the trailing edge of the system to achieve high propulsive efficiency in forward flight and a substantially vertical jet for vertical take-off and landing.
Claims11
A system for providing lift, propulsion, and control for Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)/Short take-off and landing (STOL) operations of an aircraft vehicle, the system comprising:
- a. at least one airfoil extending from a leading edge to a trailing edge;
- b. a cross-flow fan, having a rotation axis and substantially the same length as the airfoil and mounted adjacent to the trailing edge of the airfoil;
- and
- c. an exit duct for the cross-flow fan configured to provide distributed flow along the trailing edge of the system;
- the airfoil configured to provide vectored thrust;
- and the system further comprises:
- d. a flap arranged rotatable about the cross-flow fan rotation axis, where the flap has an upper face and a lower face, and where the airfoil includes a flexing or morphing lip, with an upper face, wherein the lower face of the flap and the upper face of the flexing or morphing lip forms the exit duct;
- wherein the flap and the flexing or morphing lip forming the exit duct are further configured to move simultaneously but at different angular rate to deliver a desired change in angle and mass flow of the vectored thrust.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.