Provided is a disc-shaped aircraft including a rotatable disc-shaped wing inclined downward from a center to an edge of the wing and including a through hole vertically penetrating through a center of the wing, a body provided in a space under the wing, a driving mechanism for providing rotary power to the wing, a connector including an end connected to a side of the wing forming the through hole, and another end connected to the driving mechanism to transmit rotary power to the wing, a main channel provided between the wing and the body to serve as a passage for a gas sucked into the through hole, an ejection hole provided between a lower end of the wing and the body to eject the gas flowing along the main channel, downward, and a flight controller for adjusting an ejection amount of the gas ejected from the ejection hole, by changing a shape of the main channel by adjusting a height of the wing.

Systems, methods, and aircraft for managing center of gravity (CG) while transporting large cargo are described. Management of CG is achieved in many ways. In some instances, the aircraft itself is designed to assist in managing CG by providing fuel tanks that minimize the impact of fuel on the net CG of the aircraft. The fuel tanks utilize only a small amount of available volume in the wings for fuel. Disclosures related to properly managing CG while loading wind turbines onto cargo aircraft are also provided. The CG management techniques provided for herein allow for the transportation of wind turbine blades via aircraft, running counter to the typical rail or truck transportation of the same. One such management technique includes accounting for how a rotation of the blades when loading impacts the CG of the blades, and thus taking this into account when placing the blades in the aircraft.

Systems and methods for loading a cargo aircraft are described. The system includes at least one rail disposed in an interior cargo bay of a cargo aircraft that extends at an angle relative to an interior bottom contact surface of a forward portion of the interior cargo bay, through a kinked portion and an aft portion of the interior cargo bay. Payload-receiving fixtures are described that can be used in conjunction with the rail system, allowing for large cargo, such as wind turbine blades, to be transported by aircraft. Methods of loading a cargo aircraft can include advancing the large payload into the interior cargo bay of the aircraft such that at least one of the payload-receiving fixtures rises relative to a plane defined by the interior bottom contact surface of the forward portion of the interior cargo bay. Various systems, methods, components, and related tooling are also provided.

The invention discloses a flying saucer aircraft, comprising a saucer body, a flying paddle, and landing brackets, wherein the middle of the egg-shaped saucer body is provided with an electromagnetic track with the central portion recessed inward, which is provided with an electromagnetic levitation vehicle; the flying paddle is connected to the outer surface of the vehicle, and can be driven by the vehicle to rotate; turbojet brackets are further provided on both sides of the egg-shaped saucer body; the turbojet bracket is connected with a turbojet; the landing brackets are arranged at the bottom of the egg-shaped saucer body. The aircraft can be used as a new aircraft for transportation, travel, exploration and other activities; the aircraft does not need a special runway for take-off and landing, it can take off and land vertically, and while flying in the air, the direction can be easily changed by the turbojet.

A drone control method is provided. The method may be responsive to drone recharge energy cost being greater than a predefined threshold and include commanding a processor of the drone to execute actions that preclude the drone from recharging. The method may also be responsive to drone charge level falling below a charge threshold selected only while the drone recharge energy cost exceeds the predefined threshold and include commanding the processor to execute actions to recharge the drone.

A flight control device includes a housing, a main control board provided in the housing, an inertial measurement unit provided in the housing and electrically connected to the main control board, and a power management unit provided at the housing and electrically connected to the main control board. The main control board, the inertial measurement unit, and the power management unit are fixedly connected to and integrated with the housing as a whole.

An aircraft having a vertical takeoff and landing flight mode and a forward flight mode. The aircraft includes a fuselage and a dual tiltwing assembly having a vertical lift orientation and a forward thrust orientation relative to the fuselage. The dual tiltwing assembly includes a forward wing and an aft wing coupled together and to the fuselage by a quadrilateral linkage. A distributed propulsion system is coupled to the dual tiltwing assembly and includes a plurality of forward propulsion assemblies coupled to the forward wing and a plurality of aft propulsion assemblies coupled to the aft wing. A flight control system is operably associated with the distributed propulsion system and the dual tiltwing assembly. The flight control system is operable to independently control each of the propulsion assemblies and is operable to transition the dual tiltwing assembly between the vertical lift orientation and the forward thrust orientation.

Apparatus for vertical or short takeoff and landing, and operational control during flight. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a main body assembly, the main body assembly including: a fuselage, the fuselage includes one or more power motor assemblies and one or more actuator motor assemblies; a plurality of power mounting bodies and a plurality of power/articulation mounting bodies; a static rail that is operatively coupled with the plurality of power mounting bodies; a transient rail that is operatively coupled with the plurality of power/articulation bodies; and a plurality of airfoils, each of the plurality of airfoils being coupled to a respective power/articulation mounting body. Various sub-systems of the apparatus and methods of manufacture and use are also disclosed.

A fixed-wing cargo aircraft having a kinked fuselage to extend the useable length of a continuous interior cargo bay while still meeting a tailstrike requirement is disclosed. The fuselage defines a continuous interior cargo bay along a majority of its length and a pitch axis about which the cargo aircraft rotates during takeoff while still on the ground. The fuselage includes a forward portion defining longitudinal-lateral plane of the cargo aircraft an aft portion extending aft from the pitch axis to the aft end and containing an aft region of the continuous interior cargo bay that extends along a majority of a length of the aft portion. The aft portion has a centerline extending above the forward upper surface of the aircraft.

An asymmetric aircraft configuration having a first and a second wing, the first wing having a span larger than the second wing. A first engine is mounted on the first wing, and a second engine mounted on the rear end of the aircraft with its centerline aligned with the aircraft longitudinal axis. The rear end of the aircraft has a T tail, and the second engine is configured to ingest and consume air forming a boundary layer during the flight. A main landing gear assembly includes a first landing gear attached to the first wing, and a second landing gear attached to an area of the fuselage close to the second wing.