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US 4,049,218 AGranted
Vertical take off and landing aircraft
AssigneesYung-Heng Wang, Charles Chang
InventorLian-Tong Wen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus to improve the performance of a Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft having increased safety, efficiency and maneuverability is described. The utilization of an airbooster to achieve optimum air speed of jetted air, have made the increase in its efficiency feasible. A concealed rotor eliminates the great hazard of most VTOL.
Claims5
An aircraft comprising
- an annular wing capable of supporting the aircraft in horizontal flight,
- a centrally located impeller having a substantially vertical axis of rotation,
- means for moving said impeller axially between an upper position and a lower position,
- an annular airstream guide housing within said annular wing and surrounding the periphery of the impeller for receiving air discharged radially from the impeller when the impeller is in the upper position, said airstream guide housing having an annular deflector spaced outwardly from the periphery of the impeller for deflecting downwardly the radially discharged air to provide lift for the aircraft, and
- a collecting manifold under said housing and surrounding the periphery of the impeller for receiving air discharged radially from the impeller when the impeller is in the lower position, said manifold having a rearwardly facing exhaust port for discharging air from the manifold to provide forward thrust for the aircraft.
2 more elements
An aircraft comprising
- an annular wing capable of supporting the aircraft in horizontal flight,
- a centrally located impeller having a substantially vertical axis of rotation,
- means for moving said impeller axially between an upper position and a lower position,
- an annular airstream guide housing within said annular wing and surrounding the periphery of the impeller for receiving air discharged radially from the impeller when the impeller is in the upper position, said airstream guide housing having an annular deflector spaced outwardly from the periphery of the impeller for deflecting downwardly the radially discharged air to provide lift for the aircraft, spaced openings intermediate the periphery of the impeller and the annular deflector for augmenting the mass of the airstream moving radially from the impeller to the deflector and movable baffles for selectively imparting horizontal components to the radially discharged air deflected downwardly by the annular deflector, a portion of the annular deflector at the rear of the aircraft being provided with swingable vanes for selectively redeflecting a column of downwardly streaming air rearwardly to provide forward thrust,
- a collecting manifold under said housing and surrounding the periphery of the impeller for receiving air discharged radially from the impeller when the impeller is in the lower position, said manifold having a rearwardly facing exhaust port for discharging air from the manifold to provide forward thrust for the aircraft.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.