Gyroscopically stabilised firefighting aerial vehicles

1 . An aerial vehicle comprising:

an elongated airframe;

at least one cockpit module detachably coupled to the elongated airframe;

at least one propulsion arrangement mounted to the elongated airframe and configured for providing thrust to the aerial vehicle;

a support structure coupled to the at least one propulsion arrangement and configured for controlling the direction of thrust of the at least one propulsion arrangement;

a gyroscopic stabilisation assembly including at least one rotatable gyroscopic member configured to be coupled to the at least one propulsion arrangement by a shaft assembly to gyroscopically stabilise the elongated airframe of the aerial vehicle in use;

wherein a longitudinal axis passes through the at least one cockpit module and extends longitudinally along the shaft assembly that drives the gyroscopic stabilisation assembly; and

wherein the at least one cockpit module, the shaft assembly, and the gyroscopic stabilisation assembly are aligned centrally on the longitudinal axis.

2 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one propulsion arrangement is pivotably mounted to the elongated airframe.

3 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one rotatable gyroscopic member comprises a gyroscopic fan disposed within the elongated airframe, the gyroscopic fan including a plurality of fan blades, and wherein the pitch of at least one fan blade of the plurality of fan blades is adjustable.

4 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the aerial vehicle further comprises at least one controller for controlling operation of the aerial vehicle and the gyroscopic stabilisation assembly.

5 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , including a plurality of parallel gyroscopic members.

6 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the aerial vehicle includes attachment points for attaching the aerial vehicle to an adjacent similar aerial vehicle.

7 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the aerial vehicle is configured to operate:

(i) in a piloted mode with the at least one cockpit module attached to the elongated airframe; and

(ii) in an autonomous mode or a remotely piloted mode with the at least one cockpit module detached from the elongated airframe.

8 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one rotatable gyroscopic member includes one or more selected from:

a gyroscopic disc;

a central hub fan assembly; and

a radial distal fan blade assembly.

9 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the detachable coupling of the at least one cockpit module to the elongated airframe is any one of:

(i) a fixed coupling configuration; and

(ii) a pivoting coupling configuration.

10 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a cabin of the at least one cockpit module is pivotably coupled to the at least one cockpit module by a gimbal for rotation about at least two axes.

11 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one propulsion arrangement is fixedly mounted to the elongated airframe.

12 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one propulsion arrangement includes an airflow directing assembly for directing thrust from the at least one propulsion arrangement in a plurality of directions.

13 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one propulsion arrangement is mounted to the elongated airframe:

(i) centrally within the elongated airframe;

(ii) externally of the elongated airframe; or

(iii) both centrally within the elongated airframe and externally of the elongated airframe.

14 . The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one propulsion arrangement rotates about an axis of rotation and the gyroscopic member rotates about an axis of rotation, and the at least one propulsion arrangement and the gyroscopic member are arranged such that their respective axes of rotation are substantially parallel to each other.

15 . The aerial vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the axes of the at least one propulsion arrangement and the gyroscopic fan are arranged substantially longitudinally in the airframe.

16 . A method of suppressing a fire, the method comprising the steps of: providing an aerial vehicle as claimed in claim 1 ;

moving the aerial vehicle to a location in the vicinity of the fire using the at least one propulsion arrangement;

locating the aerial vehicle above the fire with the at least one propulsion arrangement directing its thrust towards the fire;

operating the gyroscopic stabilisation arrangement to gyroscopically stabilise the elongated airframe of the aerial vehicle; and

controlling the at least one rotatable gyroscopic member to manage the thrust of the at least one propulsion arrangement.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the method includes:

controlling the support structure to move about at least two axes to direct the thrust generated by the at least one propulsion arrangement towards the fire while maintaining the orientation of the elongated airframe.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein controlling the at least one rotatable gyroscopic member further comprises:

controlling a gyroscopic fan having a plurality of fan blades with adjustable pitch; and

adjusting the pitch of the fan blades selectively thereby controlling the vertical position of the aerial vehicle while directing thrust toward the fire.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein adjusting the pitch of the fan blades further comprises adjusting the pitch selectively between:

(i) a first pitch configuration in which the fan blades generate thrust in a first axial direction to supplement thrust generated by the at least one propulsion arrangement; and

(ii) a second pitch configuration in which the fan blades generate thrust in a second axial direction opposite to the first axial direction to counteract upward aerodynamic forces acting on the aerial vehicle.