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.
Claims21
-20. (canceled)
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 on a first end and configured to receive at least a portion of a rotor hub through a distal end;
- 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 of the two or more chines, each blade cutout configured to allow for coupling between the rotor hub and a rotor blade therethrough.
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 on a first end and configured to receive at least a portion of a respective one of the one or more stop rotors through a distal end;
- two or more chines, each defining a border between two of the two or more faces;
- and
- a blade cutout along each of the two or more chines, 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.
A method of using a stop rotor of an aircraft, comprising:
- transitioning the stop rotor from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation relative to a fuselage of the aircraft, wherein the vertical orientation is configured to provide vertical thrust to the fuselage, wherein the horizontal orientation is configured to provide horizontal thrust to the fuselage;
- shielding a center of the stop rotor with a spinner;
- rotating a blade of the stop rotor and a fairing of the stop rotor about the spinner;
- and
- rotating the blade about the fairing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.