Aeronautics and astronautics – Aircraft – heavier-than-air – Airplane and auto-rotating wing sustained
Patent
1995-08-31
1998-03-17
Barefoot, Galen L.
Aeronautics and astronautics
Aircraft, heavier-than-air
Airplane and auto-rotating wing sustained
244 75R, 244 1711, B64C 2702
Patent
active
057277540
ABSTRACT:
An improved gyroplane having an improved rotor blade with an edgewise stiffness (El) of at least 80,000 pounds inch.sup.2 per pound of aircraft gross weight and blade weights of sufficient size to store a minimum of 100 foot pounds of rotational kinetic energy per pound of gross weight of the gyroplane while the rotor blade pitch is set to minimum lift during blade prerotation. Then a clutch driving the rotor is disengaged and the rotor blade pitch is changed to a lift condition to enable the gyroplane to climb to an altitude of at least fifty feet. The speed and thrust of a propeller is increased to achieve an increasing a horizontal velocity to maintain altitude, first with the rotor blade providing most of the lift and until the wings provide all the lift. To maximize velocity an improved flight control method is utilized. With this method, the angle of attack of the rotor disc is decreased and the pitch of the rotor blade is reduced to decrease rotor blade rotational speed to minimize drag during flight. During horizontal flight while the rotor blade is loaded, the wing is maintained at a constant angle of attack and the horizontal stabilizer is fixed and does not move. (It's angle of attack stays at generally zero degrees.) After the blade is unloaded during horizontal flight, the angle of attack of the rotor disc and the horizontal stabilizer are kept parallel to each other and maintained generally at a zero angle of attack.
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Barefoot Galen L.
CarterCopters, L.L.C.
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