Vertical stabilizer
AssigneeBell Helicopter Textron Inc.
InventorsSebastien Duval, Guillaume Noiseux-Boucher, Aaron Alexander Acee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods include providing an aircraft with a vertical stabilizer system having a vertical stabilizer operatively coupled to a tail boom, tail rotor gearbox, or other component of the aircraft at a forward attachment and an aft attachment. The vertical stabilizer is selectively rotatable to adjust an angle of attack of the vertical stabilizer with respect to a forward flight direction of the aircraft. The vertical stabilizer is rotatable between a forward flight position having a substantially small degree angle of attack and a hover or lateral movement position having a substantially ninety degree angle of attack.
Claims20
A vertical stabilizer system for an aircraft, comprising:
- a vertical stabilizer operatively coupled to a portion of the aircraft via a forward attachment and an aft attachment, wherein the vertical stabilizer is selectively rotatable to adjust an angle of attack of the vertical stabilizer with respect to a forward flight direction of the aircraft.
An aircraft, comprising:
- a fuselage;
- and
- a tail boom extending from the fuselage;
- and
- a vertical stabilizer operatively coupled to the aircraft via a forward attachment and an aft attachment, wherein the vertical stabilizer is selectively rotatable with respect to the fuselage to adjust an angle of attack of the vertical stabilizer with respect to a forward flight direction of the aircraft.
A method of operating an aircraft, comprising:
- providing the aircraft with a vertical stabilizer coupled to the aircraft via a forward attachment and an aft attachment, wherein the vertical stabilizer is selectively rotatable with respect to the aircraft;
- operating the aircraft in forward flight in a forward flight direction at a forward flight speed;
- decreasing the forward flight speed of the aircraft;
- and
- selectively rotating the vertical stabilizer to adjust an angle of attack of the vertical stabilizer with respect to the forward flight direction of the aircraft in response to decreasing the forward flight speed of the aircraft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.