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US 2019/0337629 A1Published application
Hybrid tiltrotor drive system
AssigneeBell Helicopter Textron Inc.
InventorsColton James GILLILAND, Mark Alan PRZYBYLA, Eric Stephen OLSON
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Abstract
An exemplary tiltrotor aircraft with a hybrid drive system includes a first propulsion system having a first engine and a first supplemental driver operably coupled to a first proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode and a second propulsion system having a second engine and a second supplemental driver operably coupled to a second proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode.
Claims20
A hybrid tiltrotor drive system, comprising:
- an engine coupled to a proprotor;
- and
- a supplemental driver coupled to the proprotor.
A tiltrotor aircraft, comprising:
- a first propulsion system comprising a first engine and a first supplemental driver operably coupled to a first proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode;
- and
- a second propulsion system comprising a second engine and a second supplemental driver operably coupled to a second proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode.
A method, comprising:
- flying a tiltrotor aircraft, wherein the tiltrotor aircraft comprises:
- a first propulsion system comprising a first engine and a first supplemental driver coupled to a first proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode;
- and
- a second propulsion system comprising a second engine and a second supplemental driver coupled to a second proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode, wherein the flying comprises:
- rotating the first proprotor at a first rotational speed in response to operation of the first engine;
- rotating the second proprotor at a second rotational speed in response to operation of the second engine;
- and
- actuating the first supplemental driver to apply energy to the first proprotor to maintain the first proprotor and the second proprotor at an equivalent rotational speed.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.