VTOL personal aircraft

A personal aircraft (PAC) capable of short take-off and landing (STOL) or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and having a center of gravity, said aircraft comprising in combination:

• (a) an elongate fuselage having two lateral sides and forming a passenger compartment, said fuselage being arranged along a longitudinal axis of said aircraft;
• (b) an elongate fixed wing having a leading edge and a trailing edge and a longitudinal wing axis between them, said fixed wing being attached to the fuselage and extending outward from the two lateral sides thereof with the wing axis substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of said aircraft, the center of gravity of said aircraft being located in a region between the leading edge and the trailing edge of said wing, said wing having a first wing component extending outward from one lateral side of said fuselage and second wing component extending outward from an opposite lateral side of said fuselage;
• (c) at least one drive shaft mounted for rotation in each respective wing component and extending substantially parallel to said wing axis;
• (d) a plurality of fan blades attached to each shaft for movement of air upon rotation of the respective shaft, each fan blade having opposite first and second edges, each fan blade extending substantially radially outward from the shaft, to which its first edge is attached, to its opposite second edge;
• (e) at least one ducted fan disposed on each respective wing component for providing substantially vertical thrust to said aircraft, each ducted fan having a substantially vertical fan shaft with a plurality of fan blades attached thereto;
• (f) a gearbox for mechanically coupling said drive shaft with said fan shaft on each wing component;
• and
• (g) a prime mover disposed in said fuselage for rotating both of said drive shafts simultaneously.