GB1315092A - Vertical take-off and landing aircraft and method of operation - Google Patents

Abstract

1315092 VTOL aircraft D R PENDER 28 Jan 1971 3421/71 Heading B7W A VTOL aircraft 15 is enabled to take off and land tail uppermost by the provision of a lift rotor 24 whose blades 25 are collapsible and rotatable about a mast 27 which is pivoted about an axis 28 during vertical flight so that the rotor can be stowed away in a fuselage compartment 29 while the aircraft flies horizontally. The aircraft is a modified conventional fixed wing aircraft propelled, e.g. by jet engines. Take off is effected by rotating blades 24 by means of tip jets 26 to lift the tail end of the aircraft; as it is lifted from the ground the aircraft pivots relative to 28 until it is suspended vertically (Fig. 4). Conversion to horizontal flight is effected by elevating the aircraft to a height sufficient to permit it to fall and then to level out of a dive as rotor 24 folds and retracts: the aircraft is then controlled by conventional means. The reverse process is employed to effect landing. Rotor 24 is equipped with cyclic and collective pitch controls for directional flight and for blade pitch variation when the aircraft is vertically suspended. During inclined flight the pilots compartment remains horizontal and the passengers rest on their backs in seats 23.