SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LONG ENDURANCE VERTICAL TAKEOFF AND LANDING VEHICLE
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a fuselage, an empennage having an all-moving horizontal stabilizer located at a tail end of the fuselage, a wing having the fuselage positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing, wherein the wing is configured to transform between a substantially straight wing configuration and a canted wing configuration using a canted hinge located on each side of the fuselage. The VTOL aircraft may further includes one or more retractable pogo supports, wherein a retractable pogo support is configured to deploy from each of the wing's distal ends.
1 . A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
a fuselage, wherein the fuselage has a nose end and a tail end;
an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage, wherein the empennage comprises a stabilizer configuration;
one or more engines;
a wing;
wherein the fuselage is positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing;
wherein the wing is configured to transform between a substantially straight wing configuration and a canted wing configuration using a canted hinge located on the wing at each side of the fuselage; and
two or more retractable pogo supports; wherein a retractable pogo support is configured to deploy from each of the wing's distal ends.
2 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the wings are configured such that, when in the canted wing configuration, the distal ends of the canted wing form a tripod launch and recovery configuration with the empennage.
3 . The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein the retractable pogo supports are configured to deploy from the distal ends of the canted wings to form a tripod launch and recovery configuration with the empennage, such that the fuselage is positioned at a predetermined stand-up angle.
4 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the wing has a high aspect ratio.
5 . The aircraft of claim 3 , wherein the predetermined stand-up angle is between 45 and 90 degrees.
6 . The aircraft of claim 5 , wherein the predetermined stand-up angle is between 65 and 75 degrees.
7 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the aircraft comprises a payload for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
8 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the aircraft comprises two wing-mounted counter-rotating engines, wherein the two counter-rotating engines are arranged such that one engine is mounted on each side of the fuselage.
9 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the counter-rotating engine is positioned on each side of the fuselage at a point between the fuselage and the canted hinge.
10 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the stabilizer configuration comprises a vertical stabilizer and an all-moving horizontal stabilizer.