VTOL personal aircraft

Abstract

Personal Aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing (“VTOL”) which comprises: (a) a fuselage having a front end, a rear end and two lateral sides, the fuselage having a central longitudinal axis extending from the front end to the rear end, between the two lateral sides; (b) at least one, and preferably two or more, ducted fans, each arranged in the fuselage between the front end and the rear end and between the two lateral sides, for providing vertical lift; and (c) at least one substantially horizontal wing attached to each side of the fuselage and extending outward with respect to the central longitudinal axis. The wings and fuselage of the aircraft are designed to provide a lift-to-drag (L/D) ratio during flight, when flying at an airspeed in the range of 50 to 100 MPH, of at least 4:1. According to a preferred feature of the present invention, the width and wingspan of the aircraft wings are adjustable during flight so that the L/D ratio and the footprint of the aircraft may be matched to the needs of the pilot.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.