Drag reducing spinner for high speed stop fold rotor
AssigneeTextron Innovations Inc.
InventorChristopher E. Foskey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spinner is described that can provide aerodynamic advantages for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The spinner can be shaped with multiple faces divided by chines. The chines can run down the edge of the spinner to fairings that can cover rotor blades and/or couplings between rotor blades and the rotor hubs of the aircraft. During forward flight the rotor blades can be folded down into recesses on the spinner. The spinner and fairings can provide aerodynamic advantages in addition to protection for sensitive components within the rotor and blades apparatus. This improves efficiency and allows the aircraft to fly faster.
Claims20
A spinner for an aircraft, comprising:
- two or more faces, the two or more faces joined on their lateral edges and configured to come together at a point on a first end and configured to form an opening at a distal end, the opening configured to receive at least a portion of a rotor hub therethrough, wherein each of the two or more faces is non-undulating;
- two or more chines, each defining a border between two of the two or more faces and each defining an edge that forms a discontinuity between the two of the two or more faces;
- and
- a blade cutout along each chine, each blade cutout configured to allow for coupling between a rotor hub and a rotor blade therethrough, wherein each of the two or more chines extends from the point to the blade cutout.
An aircraft, comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a wing coupled to the fuselage;
- and
- one or more stop rotors coupled to the wing, each stop rotor operable to provide vertical thrust when in a generally vertical orientation and further operable to be maneuvered to a generally horizontal direction during forward flight, each of the one or more stop rotors comprising;
- one or more rotor blades;
- and
- a spinner coupled to a top of each of the one or more stop rotors, each spinner comprising;
- two or more faces, the two or more faces joined along their lateral edges and configured to come together at a point on a first end and configured to form an opening at a distal end, the opening receiving at least a portion of a respective one of the one or more stop rotors therethrough, wherein each of the two or more faces is non-undulating;
- two or more chines, each defining a border between two of the two or more faces;
- and
- a blade cutout along each chine, each blade cutout configured to allow for coupling between one of the one or more stop rotors and one of the one or more rotor blades therethrough, wherein each of the two or more chines extends from the point to the blade cutout.
A method of manufacturing a spinner for an aircraft, comprising:
- providing two or more spinner faces, the two or more spinner faces configured to be joined along lateral edges and to come together at a point on a first end and to form an opening distal to the point, wherein each of the two or more spinner faces is non-undulating;
- joining the two or more spinner faces together along the lateral edges, each of the lateral edges comprising a chine that forms a discontinuity between the two or more spinner faces, and wherein the two or more spinner faces combine to form at least a portion of first and second cutouts such that neighboring first and second cutouts combine to form a plurality of blade openings configured to receive at least a portion of a blade therethrough, and wherein the opening distal to the point is configured to receive at least a portion of a rotor therethrough.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.