High speed, long range turbo-jet aircraft

A composite aircraft including a fuselage having a longitudinal axis, a rotatable wing assembly mounted on the fuselage for powered rotation, fixed wings secured to and diverging downwardly from the fuselage toward outer tip portions extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage between 45.degree. and 60.degree., and aileron means connected to said tip portions and extending at an upward incline from the fixed wings for receiving the downwash from the rotatable wing assembly.

A composite aircraft comprising a fuselage, fixed wings secured to the fuselage, a rotatable wing assembly, means mounting the rotatable wing assembly for rotation about a single axis fixed to the fuselage, thrust producing means mounted on the fuselage for propulsion thereof, disengageable drive means drivingly connecting said thrust producing means to the rotatable wing assembly for powered rotation thereof, said rotatable wing assembly including radially extensible blade means for varying the loading imposed on the thrust producing means when drivingly connected to the rotatable wing assembly, control means connected to the blade means for reducing the loading on the thrust producing means toward a minimum, and disengaging means connected to the drive means for unloading the rotatable wing assembly from the thrust producing means when the loading has been reduced to said minimum, a retraction mechanism for retracting the rotatable wing assembly into the fuselage and means connected to the rotatable wing assembly for preventing retraction thereof in response to powered rotation.

A composite aircraft comprising a fuselage, fixed wings secured to the fuselage, a rotatable wing assembly, means mounting the rotatable wing assembly for rotation about a single axis fixed to the fuselage, thrust producing means mounted on the fuselage for propulsion thereof, disengageable drive means drivingly connecting said thrust producing means to the rotatable wing assembly for powered rotation thereof, said rotatable wing assembly including radially extensible blade means for varying the loading imposed on the thrust producing means when drivingly connected to the rotatable wing assembly, control means connected to the blade means for reducing the loading on the thrust producing means toward a minimum, and disengaging means connected to the drive means for unloading the rotatable wing assembly from the thrust producing means when the loading has been reduced to said minimum, said fixed wings diverging downwardly from the fuselage toward outer tip portions extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage between 45.degree. and 60.degree., and aileron means connected to said tip portions and extending at an upward incline from the fixed wings for receiving the downwash from the rotatable wing assembly.

A convertible thrust and lift producing power plant for an aircraft comprising a combustion turbine having a combustion chamber and turbine blades, mechanical load means disengageably connected to the turbine blades, reaction nozzle means connected to the turbine for discharge of combustion products generated in the combustion chamber, compressor means driven by the turbine blades for inducing inflow of air to the turbine, after-burner means for conducting the combustion products from the turbine combustion chamber to the nozzle means, conduit means for conducting flow between the compressor means and the after-burner means in by-pass relation to the turbine, and means for supplying propellant fuel to the after-burner means while the turbine is unloaded from the load means, said propellant supplying means including means for selectively feeding rocket fuel and oxygen directly to the after-burner means during accelerating rocket operation and means for selectively feeding a refrigerant fluid to the conduit means during ram jet operation of the aircraft.