Extremely short takeoff and landing of aircraft using multi-axis thrust vectoring

An aircraft capable of achieving extremely short takeoffs and landings, comprising:

• a) a fuselage;
• b) a wing mounted to said fuselage;
• c) tricycle landing gear mounted to said wing, and
• d) a takeoff and landing system for enabling an aircraft to accomplish extremely short takeoffs and landings, comprising:
• i) an integrated flight propulsion control system comprising a multi-axis thrust vectoring system and a control feedback system connected to said multi-axis thrust vectoring system and to aerodynamic control surfaces for providing enhanced stability and control authority in flight regimes associated with takeoffs and landings;
• ii) a takeoff system operably engageable with said multi-axis thrust vectoring system, comprising means for initially rotating an aircraft nose and velocity vector upwardly below stall speed without substantial use of thrust vectoring from said multi-axis thrust vectoring system, said multi-axis thrust vectoring system being utilized after said initial rotation to further rotate the aircraft to a high angle of attack in a range between about 20.degree. and 50.degree.;
• iii) a landing system operably engageable with said multi-axis thrust vectoring system, comprising means for de-rotating the aircraft from a high angle of attack in a range of between about 40.degree. and 70.degree. to a main gear touchdown angle of attack sufficiently low to avoid scraping the tail of the aircraft;
• and
• iv) a high thrust-to-weight propulsion system connected to said integrated flight propulsion control system for providing sufficient lift to support the aircraft at the desired takeoff and landing speeds.

A method of flying an aircraft capable of accomplishing extremely sort takeoffs and landings, said aircraft having a tail scrape angle between about 10.degree. and 30.degree., said method comprising the steps of:

• a) taking off by rotating an aircraft nose upwardly below stall speed;
• b) deflecting the aircraft thrust downward to generate lift and stop said rotation, said rotation being stopped at an angle of attack between the tail scrape angle and 70.degree.;
• c) controlling the aircraft attitude using an integrated flight propulsion control system comprising a multi-axis thrust vectoring system and a control feedback system connected to said multi-axis thrust vectoring system and to aerodynamic control surfaces for providing enhanced stability and control authority in flight regimes associated with takeoffs and landings;
• d) accelerating the aircraft to a normal flight speed;
• e) pitching the aircraft to a high angle of attack attitude for approach to landing, using said integrated flight propulsion control system;
• f) controlling the aircraft in the high angle of attack attitude using said integrated flight propulsion control system;
• g) applying sufficient thrust to cause the aircraft to have a descent rate of 10 feet per second or less;
• h) maintaining said high angle of attack attitude and descent rate until ground contact;
• i) de-rotating the aircraft from said high angle of attack to a main gear touchdown angle of attack sufficiently low to avoid scraping the tail of the aircraft;
• j) deflecting the thrust upward, with the aircraft's main landing gear on the ground, to slow the de-rotation rate of the aircraft to prevent damage to the nose gear.

An aircraft capable of achieving extremely short takeoffs and landings, comprising:

• a) a fuselage;
• b) a wing mounted to said fuselage;
• c) tricycle landing gear mounted to said fuselage, and
• d) a takeoff and landing system for enabling an aircraft to accomplish extremely short takeoffs and landings, comprising:
• i) an integrated flight propulsion control system comprising a multi-axis thrust vectoring system and a control feedback system connected to said multi-axis thrust vectoring system and to aerodynamic control surfaces for providing enhanced stability and control authority in flight regimes associated with takeoffs and landings;
• ii) a takeoff system operably engageable with said multi-axis thrust vectoring system, comprising means for initially rotating an aircraft nose and velocity vector upwardly below stall speed without substantial use of thrust vectoring from said multi-axis thrust vectoring system, said multi-axis thrust vectoring system being utilized after said initial rotation to further rotate the aircraft to a high angle of attack in a range between about 20.degree. and 50.degree.;
• iii) a landing system operably engageable with said multi-axis thrust vectoring system, comprising means for de-rotating the aircraft from a high angle of attack in a range of between about 40.degree. and 70.degree. to a main gear touchdown angle of attack sufficiently low to avoid scraping the tail of the aircraft;
• and
• iv) a high thrust-to-weight propulsion system connected to said integrated flight propulsion control system for providing sufficient lift to support the aircraft at the desired takeoff and landing speeds.