Dynamically tuned tail assemblies for rotorcraft
AssigneeTextron Innovations Inc.
InventorsManuel Adrian Gonzalez, George Ryan Decker, Robert Anthony Veltre, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tail assembly for a rotorcraft having a fuselage. The tail assembly includes a stabilizer having an aft spar and a forward spar. An aft joint couples the aft spar to the fuselage and defines a pitch axis such that the aft joint allows the stabilizer to pivot about the pitch axis. A forward joint couples the forward spar to the fuselage. The forward joint has an axial stiffness configured to tailor a chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer and a bending stiffness configured to tailor a beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer. The chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer is decoupled from the beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer.
Claims20
A tail assembly for a rotorcraft having a fuselage, the tail assembly comprising:
- a stabilizer having an aft spar and a forward spar;
- an aft joint coupling the aft spar to the fuselage, the aft joint defining a pitch axis such that the aft joint allows the stabilizer to pivot about the pitch axis;
- and
- a forward joint coupling the forward spar to the fuselage, the forward joint having an axial stiffness configured to tailor a chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer and a bending stiffness configured to tailor a beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer;
- wherein, the chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer is decoupled from the beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer.
A rotorcraft comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a tail assembly coupled to the fuselage, the tail assembly comprising:
- a stabilizer having an aft spar and a forward spar;
- an aft joint coupling the aft spar to the fuselage, the aft joint defining a pitch axis such that the aft joint allows the stabilizer to pivot about the pitch axis;
- and
- a forward joint coupling the forward spar to the fuselage, the forward joint having an axial stiffness configured to tailor a chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer and a bending stiffness configured to tailor a beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer;
- wherein, the chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer is decoupled from the beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer.
A tiltrotor aircraft comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a tail assembly coupled to the fuselage, the tail assembly comprising:
- a stabilizer having an aft spar and a forward spar;
- an aft joint coupling the aft spar to the fuselage, the aft joint defining a pitch axis such that the aft joint allows the stabilizer to pivot about the pitch axis;
- and
- a forward joint coupling the forward spar to the fuselage, the forward joint having an axial stiffness configured to tailor a chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer and a bending stiffness configured to tailor a beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer;
- wherein, the chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer is decoupled from the beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.