Convertiblade

Abstract

An aircraft which operates between the surface and the air as a rotating wing aircraft (helicopter-autogiro). When airborne a rotor pylon latch is released and the pilot flies the rotor system aft about its pivot to the fuselage to form the tail of a high speed jet propelled airplane. Altering the pitch angle of the blades controls the aircraft, called a convertiblade, for helicopter-autogiro and airplane configurations and for moving the rotor between its configurations. The rotor is revved up with rocket fuel piped to burner jet nozzles located at the blade tips. A jump-take-off may be used to efficiently get the convertiblade airborne at a good climbing speed. Prior to landing, the rotor blades are released from their operation as roll control surfaces for the airplane configuration; then, they are permitted to rev-up and act as a brake to reduce the speed of the airplane. At a suitable speed, the pylon is released from the fuselage and the rotor system is flown by the pilot's controls up into autogiro configuration where it automatically latches permitting the pilot to make a flared autogiro landing. The transition between autogiro and airplane takes place in a very short period of time. The fuselage is kept stable during the transitions by the pilot's controls and by establishing lateral, directional, and longitudinal stability through relationships between the center of gravity and the center of all fin-areas of the aircraft for each regime of flight. Several methods of augmenting the rotor controls during transition are presented including the use of combined wing tip elevators and ailerons.

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