RU2233770C1 - Vertical takeoff and landing aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: aeronautical engineering; heavier-than-air flying vehicles.

SUBSTANCE: proposed aircraft includes fuselage, wings, power plant with several engines, tail unit, tractor propeller and main rotors. Each main rotor is connected with two engines. Aircraft is provided with four wings with engine mounted on each wing. Two wings are located in nose fuselage and two other wings are located in rear fuselage. Main rotors are located between wings in nose fuselage and rear fuselage. Main rotor are closed with flaps against incoming air flow. Part of air flow formed during operation of main rotors is directed through passages in wings.

EFFECT: enhanced safety of flight.

2 cl, 6 dwg

Description

The invention relates to aircraft, in particular to aircraft heavier than air, and is intended for rescue operations at sea and on land, the transport of passengers and goods to hard-to-reach places.

In the USA in 1999-2000 tested the military transport aircraft vertical takeoff and landing “Osprey” with rotary engines (Foreign Military Review. No. 8, 2000, p. 36; No. 11, 2001, p. 33). The Osprey aircraft is made according to the normal aerodynamic design with an upright straight wing, a twin-tail tail with two turboprop engines mounted in rotary nacelles at the wingtips. During take-off, nacelles with turboprop engines are deployed vertically, lifting force and control moments are created due to changes in engine thrust and propeller pitch. Then the engines gradually deviate from the vertical position. With increasing flight speed up to 180-200 km / h, the lifting force and control torques are provided by an incoming air flow on the aerodynamic surfaces of the wings, after which the engine nacelles are fixed in a horizontal position.

Bell Helicopter USA is developing a vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) with 4 rotary turboprop engines similar to those used at the Osprey VTOL (Foreign Military Review. No. 11, 2000). It is assumed that the dimensions of the fuselage and cargo compartment of the new machine will be comparable with the corresponding parameters of the transport aircraft C 130 - Hercules. This will allow the new VTOL aircraft to deploy more than 90 fully equipped military personnel or 13.6 tons of cargo. The maximum take-off weight is 63 tons. Prototypes are planned for production in 2001. Serial production is scheduled for 2010. Although the development of VTOL aircraft with rotary engines has been carried out in the UK and the USA since the 60s of the XX century, until now it has not been possible to completely solve some problems. In particular, the transition from vertical takeoff and landing to horizontal flight mode and vice versa is unstable. In the event of failure of one of the engines, the aircraft loses the ability to take off and land vertically.

The well-known vertical take-off and landing aircraft (US Patent No. 5320305, B 64 C 29/00, 06/14/1994) contains two main rotors, each of which is located in the wing console and is connected to the corresponding engine, which is connected to the corresponding pulling rotor. The placement of rotors in the wing console required both an increase in the wing area and its thickness, which led to the need for the layout of the entire structure in the form of a flying wing type scheme.

The disadvantage is that flying-type circuits have not received practical use in aviation, especially in civilian applications, due to their obvious shortcomings over the “normal” aerodynamic circuits of aircraft. In addition, this structural scheme does not provide vertical take-off and landing in case of failure of one of the aircraft engines.

The aim of the invention is to develop a design diagram of the VTOL aircraft, which would provide vertical take-off and landing, even if one of the aircraft engines fails.

Aircraft vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) contains a fuselage, wings, a power plant with several engines, tail, landing gear, pull and rotors, where each rotor is connected to two engines, while VTOL has four wings with engines on each wing two of which are located in the front of the fuselage, the other two are in the rear of the fuselage, and the rotors are located between the wings in the front and rear of the fuselage. The rotors are closed by dampers from the incoming air flow during normal horizontal flight and open during flight in the modes of vertical take-off and landing, hovering, horizontal flight at a speed that does not ensure that the aircraft is held at a given height due to the lifting force of the wings. In normal horizontal flight, the rotors are disconnected from the engines. Part of the air flow generated during operation of the rotors is directed through the channels in the wings of the aircraft with the air flow in the lower plane of the wings.

Due to the use of the above technical solutions during their implementation of the claimed invention, a vertical take-off and landing aircraft will have the following advantages over VTOL with rotary engines:

- higher flight safety;

- the possibility of vertical take-off and landing, even if one engine fails;

- the possibility of emergency vertical landing even if two engines fail, provided one engine on the front wings and one engine on the rear wings fail;

- the ability to continue horizontal flight in case of failure of any two engines.

Figure 1 shows a top view of the aircraft:

figure 2 is a front view;

figure 3 is a side view;

figure 4 is a section aa of the fuselage at the installation site of the rotors in the front of the fuselage;

figure 5 - section BB of the fuselage at the place of installation of the screws in the rear of the fuselage;

Fig.6 is a section bb of the protective casing 13 above the rotors 8.

The vertical take-off and landing airplane (FIGS. 1, 2, 3) contains the fuselage 1, the front wings 2, the rear wings 3, the engines 4, the tail unit 5, the landing gear 6. The engines 4 with the gear 9 are equipped with pulling coaxial screws 7 of the fan-type type. In the fuselage 1 between the wings 2, 3 are placed rotors 8 with a gear 10. The rotors 8 can be made similar to the pulling coaxial rotor propeller type or any other design fan, compressor type, providing maximum vertical thrust with minimum dimensions of the rotor 8. Airplane on 1, 2, 3 are shown with the shutters 14 closed, therefore, the rotors 8 are not shown. The shafts 11 provide power transmission from the engines 4 to the screws 8 through the gearbox 10 and the coaxial shafts 12.

Figures 1, 3, 4, 5 show the channels 15, through which part of the air flow generated during operation of the rotors 8 is supplied with the air flow in the lower plane of the wings 2, 3. Figure 3 shows the shutters 19 open mounted in the lower plane of the wings 2, 3 at the outlet of the air flow from the channels 15. In Fig. 4 (section AA of the fuselage) 1, a protective casing 13 is shown, in which the rotors 8 are located, located in front of the fuselage 1 between the wings 2. The protective casing 13 is designed to protect the fuselage 1 from exposure to air the flow created by the screws 8 during their operation. The casing 13 is additionally a power structure, transmitting traction from the working screws 8 to the fuselage body 1.

The flaps 14 are shown rotary, although this is not necessary. The dampers can be sliding, and combinations of different types of dampers can be used - sliding and rotary. To carry out the operation of the shutters 14, standard devices and mechanisms are used that are used in airplanes to ensure the operation of the chassis flaps and mechanize the operation of the wing, and therefore these devices are not shown in FIGS.

The purpose of the shutters 14 is to close the protective casing 13 and the rotors 8 from the incoming air flow in the normal horizontal flight mode of the aircraft.

The air is introduced into the casing 13 through the grill 17, the air is discharged through the grill 18. Below the screws 8 above the grill 18 there is a device 16 providing for the selection of a part of the air flow, which is formed during the operation of the screws 8, into the channels 15. The channels 15 are designed to supply air flow into the lower plane of the wings 2, 3 with open shutters 19 (figure 3). Due to the air outlet in the lower plane of wings 2, 3, the lateral stability of the aircraft is ensured in the vertical take-off and landing and horizontal flight modes at a speed that does not maintain the aircraft at a given height due to the lifting force of the wings.

5 (section BB of the fuselage 1) shows the rotors 8 located in the casing 13 between the wings 3 in the rear of the fuselage 1. Fundamentally, the section BB of FIG. 5 does not differ from section AA of FIG. 4.

Figure 6 (section BB-4) shows the protective casing 13, the coaxial shafts 12 and the rotors 8, the device 16, providing the selection of part of the air flow into the channels 15.

Let us analyze the operation of the pulling and main rotors 7, 8 in various flight modes of a vertical take-off and landing airplane.

Vertical takeoff mode. Before turning on the engines 4, the rotors 8 are disconnected from the engines, the pulling screws 7 are installed in increments that create zero traction during operation. The dampers 14, 19 are set to the “Open” position, the pitch of screws 8 is set, which ensures minimal thrust during operation. After turning on the engines 4 and checking the operability of the aircraft systems, the rotors 8 are put into operation. Then, by increasing the speed and power of the engines 4 and increasing the thrust of the rotors 8 by changing the pitch of the screws 8, the plane breaks off the ground and gains height.

The pilot holds the plane in a horizontal position, providing longitudinal stability by adjusting the thrust of the rotors 8 in the front and rear parts of the fuselage 1. The pilot provides lateral stability of the aircraft by controlling the magnitude of the air flows exiting in the lower plane of the wings 2, 3.

The mode of horizontal flight at a speed that does not ensure the holding of the aircraft at a given height due to the lifting force of the wings 2, 3.

After a vertical rise to a predetermined height, the pilot increases the thrust of the pulling screws 7 by changing the pitch of the screws 7 and the plane enters a horizontal flight, in which the specified height is provided by the thrust of the rotors 8 and partly by the lifting force of the wings 2, 3, and the horizontal speed is provided by the thrust of the pulling screws 7.

Transition to normal horizontal flight.

The pilot increases the thrust of the pulling screws 7 and reduces the thrust of the rotors 8 by changing their pitch. When the speed of the aircraft reaches such that with a minimum thrust of the rotors 8, the plane is held at a predetermined height due to the lifting force created by wings 2, 3, the pilot disconnects the rotors 8 from the engines 4. Then he closes the shutters 14, 19 and the aircraft enters normal horizontal flight.

Hang mode To switch from normal horizontal flight mode to hovering mode, the pilot reduces the flight speed to the minimum at which the aircraft is held at a predetermined height, while opening the flaps 14, 19 and turning on the rotors 8. Gradually increase the thrust of the rotors 8 and reduce the thrust of the pulling screws 7 by changing the pitch of screws 7, 8, the pilot puts the aircraft in hover mode, that is, the plane crashes at a certain point with zero horizontal speed.

Vertical landing mode. The plane, hovering over the landing site, releases the landing gear 6. Then the pilot gradually reduces the thrust of the rotors 8 by changing the pitch of the screws 8 and the plane makes a vertical landing.

In addition to the above modes, a vertical take-off and landing airplane, in the presence of a normal runway, can land and take off like a regular airplane. If one of the engines refuses to fly, the aircraft can make both a vertical landing and take-off, as well as landing in a regular airplane mode with a runway. An airplane can make a vertical landing even if two engines 4 fail, provided that one engine on wings 2 and one on wings 3 fails. The aircraft can continue to fly and land like an ordinary airplane at an airfield even if any two engines fail.

Claims (2)

1. Aircraft vertical take-off and landing, comprising a fuselage, wings, a power plant with several engines, tail, landing gear, pulling and main rotors, characterized in that each main rotor is connected to two engines, while the vertical take-off and landing plane four wings with an engine on each wing, with two wings located at the front of the fuselage, two other wings at the rear of the fuselage, and rotors placed between the wings at the front and rear of the fuselage I shutters from the incoming air flow in horizontal flight mode, and open in VTOL, hover, level flight at a rate not providing the aircraft hold at a predetermined height due to the lift of the wings, as in normal level flight rotors are disconnected from the engine. 2. The airplane of vertical take-off and landing according to claim 1, characterized in that part of the air flow generated during operation of the rotors is directed through the channels in the wings with the exit of the air flow in the lower plane of the wings.

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