Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) tilt-wing passenger aircraft
Disclosed herein is a VTOL tilt-wing aircraft that serves as a 4-6 passenger airliner for scheduled service between city centers and that is optimized for travel distances from 100-500 miles fully loaded with passengers and fuel. The VTOL aircraft solves technical, cost, and time problems inherent in other forms of transportation, including, but not limited to, rail, passenger airlines, and helicopters. The VTOL aircraft (1) takes off and lands like a helicopter, (2) flies fast like a jet, and (3) costs less than or comparable to a helicopter.
1. A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) tilt-wing aircraft comprising:
a fuselage made of carbon fiber, aluminum, or both, the fuselage further comprising:
a front section with cockpit;
a middle section passenger cabin, the passenger cabin having a split cabin door, an emergency door opposite the split cabin door, and a fire-resistant cabin interior;
a tail section containing an engine and a fuel tank; and
seating for up to 6 occupants;
a horizontally mounted stabilizing propeller connected at a center of an end of the tail section;
two horizontal stabilizers connected to the tail section on opposite sides of the horizontally mounted stabilizing propeller;
two vertical stabilizers connected one to each horizontal stabilizer;
a single wing rotatably coupled to the fuselage, the single wing having a tapered leading edge and a tapered trailing edge, the single wing notched in the center so that the single wing can rotate about an attachment at a top of the fuselage and trailing portions of the single wing on each side of the notch pass to either side of the middle section passenger cabin as the single wing tilts from 0 degree of wing angle to a maximum of 120 degrees of wing angle, wherein the attachment between the single wing and the fuselage comprises two trapeze mounts affixed on either side of the top of the fuselage, wherein each trapeze mount includes a circular hole with bearing affixed within, and wherein a circular tube inserted into the bearing is joined to the single wing such that as the circular tube rotates within the trapeze bearings, the single wing member rotates and alters the wing angle;
a slew-ring worm drive controlling rotation of the circular tube, the slew-ring worm drive comprising a circular worm-wheel gear encircling the circular tube, the worm-wheel gear engaged to a zero-backlash worm gear, the worm gear placed on a shaft driven by dual-redundant coaxial electric motors;
two wing propellers connected one to each end of the wing, each mechanically coupled along a drive path to the engine, wherein an input shaft from the engine is attached to a T gearbox centrally located in the single wing, and two wing shafts at opposite 90 degree angles to the input shaft attach the T gearbox to two L gearboxes, one L gearbox in each side of the single wing, and each L gearbox has an output shaft rotated 90 degrees from the connected wing shaft, and each output shaft connects to a double universal joint which is connected to a second shaft riding within an elastomer lined circular bearing and connected to one of the wing propellers;
landing skids or footpads which extend from the hull for takeoff and landing and retract flush with the hull during flight;
wherein the wing propeller plane or rotation is approximately horizontal when in helicopter mode for takeoff and landing, and approximately vertical when in airplane mode during flight; and
wherein the VTOL tilt-wing aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 6990 pounds, a cruise speed of at least 350 knots, and a maximum range of at least 500 miles.