Systems and methods for tilter motor cooling

A tilt apparatus of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) craft, comprising:

• a body;
• a propeller;
• a motor assembly coupled to the propeller;
• a thermal transfer device configured to thermally couple to the motor assembly;
• a nacelle coupled to the motor assembly, the nacelle comprising a door;
• and
• a tilt actuator configured to tilt the nacelle, the motor assembly, and the propeller, with respect to the body between a lift configuration and a cruise configuration,
• wherein:
• the door is configured to be actuated such that an opening size of an air inlet of the nacelle is larger in the lift configuration than in the cruise configuration;
• and
• the propeller is configured to direct a portion of a propwash through the air inlet to the thermal transfer device when the propeller is operated in the lift configuration.

A method of operating a tilt apparatus of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) craft, comprising:

• tilting a motor assembly, a nacelle, and a propeller with respect to a body into a lift configuration by a tilt actuator, the motor assembly being coupled to the propeller and to the nacelle, the nacelle comprising a door;
• actuating the door to a first position with the tilting of the nacelle and the propeller into the lift configuration;
• directing propwash from the propeller to an air inlet of the nacelle and further to a thermal transfer device that is thermally coupled to the motor assembly when the propeller is in the lift configuration;
• tilting the motor assembly, the nacelle, and the propeller from the lift configuration to a cruise configuration;
• and
• actuating the door air inlet to a second position with the tilting of the nacelle and the propeller into the cruise configuration,
• wherein actuating the door to the first position or the second position causes an opening size of the air inlet of the nacelle to be larger in the first position than in the second position.