System, apparatus and method for long endurance vertical takeoff and landing vehicle

A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:

• a fuselage having a nose end, and a tail end;
• an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage;
• a canted wing having a first wing tip and a second wing tip, the fuselage positioned halfway between the first and second wing tips, the canted wing comprising:
• first and second wing panels coupled by a first hinge, the first wing panel attached to the fuselage and the second wing panel comprising the first wing tip;
• and
• third and fourth wing panels coupled by a second hinge, the third wing panel attached to the fuselage opposite the first wing panel and the fourth wing panel comprising the second wing tip, the first hinge and the second hinge to enable the canted wing to reject wind gusts by maintaining constant moments at the locations of the integrated hinges, wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth wing panels includes a control surface at its trailing edge;
• a first tiltrotor positioned left of the fuselage on the canted wing;
• a second tiltrotor positioned right of the fuselage on the canted wing;
• and
• a fixed engine positioned on the fuselage aft of the canted wing in a vertical configuration, the first tiltrotor, the second tiltrotor, and the fixed engine configured such that:
• during a first phase of takeoff, (i) the fixed engine generates thrust, thereby causing the tail end of the fuselage to become airborne, and (ii) the first tiltrotor and the second tiltrotor transition from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation until the fuselage achieves a transition angle;
• and
• during a second phase of takeoff, the first tiltrotor and the second tiltrotor are in the horizontal configuration to provide thrust to the aircraft for wing borne flight.

A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:

• a fuselage having a nose end, and a tail end;
• an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage;
• a canted wing having a first wing tip and a second wing tip, the fuselage positioned halfway between the first and second wing tips, the canted wing comprising:
• first and second wing panels coupled by a first hinge, the first wing panel attached to the fuselage and the second wing panel comprising the first wing tip;
• and
• third and fourth wing panels coupled by a second hinge, the third wing panel attached to the fuselage opposite the first wing panel and the fourth wing panel comprising the second wing tip, wherein each of the first wing panel and the third wing panel includes a control surface at its trailing edge;
• a vehicle computer coupled with a sensor to measure wind gusts, wherein the vehicle computer is configured to control a bend angle of said first hinge and/or second hinge based at least in part on measurements from said sensor;
• a first tiltrotor positioned left of the fuselage on the canted wing;
• and
• a second tiltrotor positioned right of the fuselage on the canted wing, the first tiltrotor and the second tiltrotor configured such that:
• during a first phase of takeoff, the first tiltrotor and the second tiltrotor transition from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation until the fuselage achieves a transition angle;
• and
• during a second phase of takeoff, the first tiltrotor and the second tiltrotor are in the horizontal configuration to provide thrust to the aircraft for wing borne flight.