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US 12,606,300 B2Granted
Vertical take-off and landing aircraft
AssigneeMethod Aeronautics, LLC
InventorsNeil Boertlein, Daniel Hatfield, Jeremy Novara
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A VTOL aircraft includes a pod having a pod forward portion and a pod aft portion. The pod forward portion is connected to an inboard wing of the VTOL aircraft and the pod aft portion is connected to an outboard wing and a vertical stabilizer of the VTOL aircraft. The pod aft portion rotates, together with the outboard wing and the vertical stabilizer, about a centerline of the pod relative to the pod forward portion.
Claims20
An aircraft comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a first pod including a first pod forward portion and a first pod aft portion;
- a second pod including a second pod forward portion and a second pod aft portion;
- a first inboard wing connecting the fuselage to the first pod forward portion;
- a second inboard wing connecting the fuselage to the second pod forward portion;
- a first outboard wing connected to the first pod aft portion;
- a second outboard wing connected to the second pod aft portion;
- a first vertical stabilizer connected to the first pod aft portion;
- and
- a second vertical stabilizer connected to the second pod aft portion;
- wherein the first pod aft portion is configured to rotate, concurrently with the first outboard wing and the first vertical stabilizer, relative to the first pod forward portion;
- and
- wherein the second pod aft portion is configured to rotate, concurrently with the second outboard wing and the second vertical stabilizer, relative to the second pod forward portion,
- the first and second pod aft portions thus enabling the aircraft to have a large wingspan for efficiency in forward flight and a compact form for takeoff, landing, and storage.
11 more elements
A pod assembly configured for use on an aircraft, the pod assembly comprising:
- a pod forward portion;
- and
- a pod aft portion;
- wherein the pod forward portion is configured to be connected to an inboard wing of the aircraft;
- wherein the pod aft portion is configured to be connected to an outboard wing and a vertical stabilizer;
- and
- wherein the pod aft portion is configured to rotate, together with the outboard wing and the vertical stabilizer, about a centerline of the pod relative to the pod forward portion.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.