Rotary wing device

An open-ended rotary wing device adapted to be rotated about its longitudinal axis and to be propelled forwardly relative to the surrounding fluid with its longitudinal axis having a small angle of attack relative to the forward flight direction in order to generate a biasing force on the device, the biasing force acting substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis and in the plane which includes both the longitudinal axis and the forward flight direction, said rotary wing device comprising:

• (a) a plurality of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced-apart wing segments disposed in a hollow, open-ended, substantially cylindrical configuration, said wing segments being mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis of said device;
• (b) each said wing segment having a longitudinal dimension greater than its laterial dimension, each said wing segment having rounded streamlined lateral side edges, and each said wing segment being symmetrical in lateral cross-section wherein one side of said wing segment is the mirror image of the other side of the said wing segment;
• (c) front and rear mounting rings provided on said device for rotatably mounting said wing segments, said front and rear mounting rings engaging and stabilizing the front tips and the rear tips, respectively, of said wing segments, said front mounting ring having a greater mass than said rear mounting ring;
• and
• (d) the center of mass of said rotary wing device being located on the longitudinal axis of said device, said device being statically and dynamically balanced relative to the longitudinal axis of said device.

An open-ended rotary wing device adapted to be rotated about its longitudinal axis and to be propelled forwardly relative to the surrounding fluid with its longitudinal axis having a small upward pitch angle of attack relative to the forward flight direction in order to generate an upward lifting biasing force on said device, the biasing force acting substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis and in the plane which includes both the longitudinal axis and the forward flight direction, said rotary wing device comprising:

• (a) a plurality of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced-apart wing segments disposed in a hollow, open-ended, substantially cylindrical configuration, said wing segments being mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis of said device;
• (b) each said wing segment having a longitudinal dimension greater than its lateral dimension, each said wing segment having rounded streamlined lateral side edges, and each said wing segment being symmetrical in lateral cross-section wherein one side of said wing segment is the mirror image of the other side of said wing segment;
• (c) the center of mass of said rotary wing device being located along the forward 25% to 45% of the longitudinal axis of said device, said device being statically and dynamically balanced relative to the longitudinal axis of said device;
• and
• (d) said wing segment shape and orientation constituting aerodynamic means for automatically and gradually increasing the effective wing span of said wing segments as the forward speed of said device slows, thereby causing the center of lift of said device to move longitudinally forward of the center of mass, thereby causing the pitch angle of said device to increase, and thereby causing substantially constant speed auto-rotation of said device, all thereby generating a substantially constant lifting force on said wing segments to produce a substantially flat trajectory flight path for said device.