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US 4,537,373 AGranted
Air vehicle having driven wheels and ducted fans
OwnerDennis D. Buttsinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An air vehicle has a passenger section, a tail section including variable camber air foil wings and horizontal and vertical control surfaces, ducted fan propellers and landing gear wheels driven by an engine. The landing gear wheels accelerate the vehicle until the fans produce sufficient thrust, at which time the ducted fans propel the vehicle into flight. In one embodiment, while the tail section is detached, the passenger section can be used as a land vehicle. Alternatively, the passenger section and tail section are formed as a single unit in which case the vehicle is used solely as an airplane.
Claims31
A vehicle capable of being used as an automobile and as an aircraft comprising:
- an automobile section having steering and driven wheels, and a power plant connected to drive said driven wheels while the vehicle is being used as an automobile, said automobile being dimensioned to enable it to be driven on the ground;
- an aircraft section selectively connected to said automobile section, said aircraft section including:
- a fuselage, wing and tail assemblies mounted on said fuselage, high speed fan means mounted in said fuselage for propelling the vehicle while airborne, and means for driving said fan means and said driven wheels while said aircraft and said automobile sections are connected, said fan means designed to develop insufficient thrust to accelerate the vehicle during normal take-off operations while the vehicle is at low speed on the ground, said vehicle being accelerated while on the ground by said driven wheels to a speed at which the fan means develops sufficient thrust to accelerate and propel the vehicle in flight, whereby said high speed fan means is capable of achieving higher thrust-to-drag ratios at higher speeds relative to a standard propeller to a maximum predetermined high cruise airspeed for propelling the vehicle in flight in a fuel efficient manner and further including an air flow area formed below said automobile body setion, a substantially forward facing inlet opening and a pair of outlet ducts formed on opposite sides of said fuselage and communicating with said air flow area, said outlet ducts housing said high speed fan means.
Aircraft comprising:
- a passenger section and fuselage;
- landing gear, comprising driving and steering wheels mounted on said passenger section;
- wing and tail assemblies mounted on said fuselage;
- high speed fan means mounted in said fuselage for propelling the aircraft while airborne;
- and
- means for driving said fan means and said driving wheels, said fan means having insufficient thrust to accelerate the aircraft into flight while at low speed on the ground during normal take-off operations, said aircraft being accelerated while on the ground by said driving wheels to speeds approaching approximately take-off speed at which speeds said fan means has sufficient thrust to accelerate said aircraft in flight and further including an airflow area formed below said passenger section, a substantially forward facing inlet opening and a pair of outlet ducts formed on opposite sides of said fuselage and communicating with said airflow area, said outlet housing said high speed fan means.
3 more elements
A vehicle capable of being used as a land vehicle and as an aircraft comprising:
- a main body including:
- a passenger compartment;
- a motive source of power and a first source of propulsion mounted within said main body for accelerating said vehicle while on the ground as a land vehicle and for take-off as an aircraft;
- a tail section including:
- a fuselage;
- a pair of wings mounted on said fuselage;
- vertical and horizontal stabilizers mounted on a rearward portion of said fuselage;
- and
- a second source of propulsion connected to said motive source for propelling said vehicle while it is airborne, said second source mounted on said fuselage and designed being incapable of generating sufficient thrust during normal take-off operations to accelerate the vehicle to flight while the vehicle is below aproximately take-off speed on the ground, said vehicle being accelerated while on the ground by said first source of propulsion to a speed at which the second source has sufficient thrust to accelerate and propel the vehicle in flight;
- said main body and said tail section being selectively connected to each other such that said main body can be used as a land vehicle when separated from said tail section, said second source being respectively connected to and disconnected from said motive source while said body and said tail section are connected and disconnected and further including an air flow area formed below said main body, a substantially forward facing inlet opening and a pair of outlet ducts formed on opposite sides of said fuselage and communicating with said flow area, said outlet ducts housing said second source of propulsion.
7 more elements
Aircraft comprising:
- a fuselage including a passenger compartment;
- an air flow area formed below said fuselage, said flow area having minimal aerodynamic drag and having an inlet for directing air to said air flow area and a pair of duct openings formed on opposite sides of said fuselage;
- landing gear comprising a plurality of wheels mounted on said passenger section;
- a pair of wings mounted on said fuselage, said wings having a low cambered airfoil or narrow profile, said wings including means for varying the camber of said airfoil;
- vertical and horizontal stabilizers mounted on a rearword portion of said fuselage;
- a pair of high speed ducted fans mounted within said pair of duct openings formed on said fuselage for propelling the aircraft while airborne;
- and
- drive means mounted within said fuselage and connected to a pair of said wheels and to said pair of ducted fans, said high speed ducted fans designed to be incapable of developing sufficient thrust to accelerate the aircraft into flight during normal takeoff operations while at low speed on the ground, said aircraft being accelerated while on the ground by driving wheels to speeds approaching take-off speed at which speeds said ducted fans develop sufficient thrust to accelerate and propel the aircraft in flight.
5 more elements
A vehicle capable of being used as a land vehicle and as an aircraft comprising:
- a passenger section including:
- a cockpit;
- an air flow area formed below said passenger section, said air flow having an inlet formed beneath a forward portion of said passenger section and an outlet formed in a rearward portion of said passenger section, said air flow area and inlet designed to impart minimal drag at high in-flight speeds to the vehicle;
- landing gear comprising a plurality of wheels mounted on said passenger section;
- and
- an engine mounted within said passenger section, said engine connected through gearing means to a pair of sand wheels for accelerating said vehicle while on the ground as a land vehicle and for take-off as an aircraft;
- and
- a tail section including:
- a fuselage;
- a pair of wings releasably attached to a forward portion of said fuselage, each said wing comprising a low cambered narrow profile airfoil, said wing further including means for varying the camber of said airfoil;
- vertical and horizontal stabilizers mounted on a rearward portion of said fuselage;
- a pair of duct openings formed on opposite sides of said fuselage communicating with said air flow area formed below said passenger section;
- a pair of counter-rotating ducted fans connected to said engine for propelling said vehicle while it is airborne, said fans mounted within said pair of duct openings formed on said fuselage, each fan comprising a plurality of fixed pitch blades, said fans being incapable of propelling the vehicle to take-off speed during normal take-off operation, said fans producing appreciable thrust only as take-off speed is approached, and at greater speeds, said fans designed for propelling and maintining said vehicle in flight at speeds greater than approximately take-off speed;
- said passenger section and said tail section being selectively connected to each other such that said passenger section can be used as a land vehicle when separated from said tail section, said fans, being respectively connected to and disconnected from said engine while said body and said tail section are connected and disconnected.
11 more elements
An improved motive system for winged aircraft having a fuselage and tail section comprising a motive source of power, driven wheels driven by the motive source for accelerating the aircraft on the ground to speeds enabling the aircraft to be airborne, a second source of propulsion driven by said motive source for accelerating the aircraft only as it attains speeds enabling it to be airborne and maintaining the aircraft in high speed fuel efficient flight, said second source of propulsion being incapable of accelerating the aircraft during normal take-off operations to speeds enabling the saime to be airborne, the first and second sources of propulsion being structures that do not add substantial aerodynamic drag to the aircraft while it is airborne whereby said second source is capable of achieving higher thrust-to-drag ratios at higher airspeeds relative to standard propellers to a maximum predetermined high cruise airspeed for propelling the aircraft in fuel efficient flight and further including an airflow area formed below said fuselage, said flow area having an inlet opening directing air into the air flow area and a pair of outlet ducts formed on opposite sides of said fuselage and communicating with said air flow area, said outlet ducts housing said second source of propulsion.
A vehicle capable of being used as a land vehicle and as an aircraft comprising:
- a passenger section including:
- a cockpit;
- an air flow area formed below said passenger section, said air flow area having an inlet formed beneath a forward portion of said passenger section and an outlet formed in a rearward portion of said passenger section;
- landing gear comprising a plurality of wheels mounted on said passenger section;
- and
- an engine mounted within said passenger section, said engine connected through gearing means to a pair of said wheels for accelerating said vehicle while on the ground as a land vehicle and for take-off as an aircraft;
- and
- a tail section including:
- a fuselage;
- a pair of wings releasably attached to a forward portion of said fuselage, each of said wings comprising a low cambered narrow profile airfoil, said wing further including means for varying the chamber of said airfoil;
- vertical and horizontal stabilizers mounted on a rearward portion of said fuselage;
- a pair of duct openings formed on opposite sides of said fuselage communicating with said airflow area formed below said passenger section, said duct openings forming a continuation of the outlets of the airflow area when the passenger and tail sections are mated;
- a pair of counter-rotating ducted fans connected to said engine for propelling said vehicle in flight, said fans mounted within said pair of duct openings formed on said fuselage, each fan comprising a plurality of fixed pitch blades, said fans being incapable of producing sufficient thrust to accelerate the vehicle to approximately take-off speed during take-off operation on the ground, said fans designed for propelling and maintaining said vehicle in flight at speeds greater than take-off speed, and at greater speeds;
- said passenger section and said tail section being selectively connected to each other such that said passenger section can be used as a land vehicle when separated from said tail section, said fans being respectively connected to and disconnected from said engine while said body and said tail section are connected and disconnected.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.