A fan-in-wing aerial vehicle according to an embodiment may comprise: a fuselage; main wings expending from both sides of the fuselage in the span direction; rotors rotatably mounted inside the main wings, respectively; and opening/closing portions installed on the main wings such that the same can be opened/closed and thereby expose the rotors to the outside or conceal the rotors from the outside, respectively.

An aircraft comprising a wing having a spanwise lift distribution extending from a root to a tip, the lift distribution defining an inboard region defining a positive lift contribution, an outboard region defining a negative lift contribution, and an intermediate region defining a neutral lift contribution, the neutral region being spaced from the tip and from the root. A propulsion system is provided, comprising a wing mounted propulsor. The wing mounted propulsor has a rotational axis (x) positioned substantially at a span of the wing where a value of δLift/δSpan is at a maximum for the span of the wing, and may be located at the intermediate region along the span of the wing.

A vehicle architecture and the associated method of operation for fixed wing aircraft transition from operation underwater to flight in air. More particularly, the vehicle architecture and method allow transition and long-range operation in both water and in air.

The method starts with the vehicle oriented for long range flight in water. The method is composed of a flight orientation change for high speed ascent by rolling over, then water ascent, tractor propeller transition, wing transition, pusher propeller transition, boundary layer flight, and air ascent. The vehicle will ascend in its highspeed water configuration. As the tractor propeller breaches the surface of the water it will change its pitch collectively to optimize for low speed operation in air. As the wings breach the surface of the water, they will increase in camber to optimize for low speed operation in air. The vehicle will change angle of attack to stay within the ground effect regime in air using firstly the submerged control surfaces. In ground regime flight the vehicle will accelerate and transition to high altitude low drag flight with optimally cambered wings.

A rotorcraft that utilizes both a main compound rotor and a plurality of tiltrotors is disclosed. The main rotor and the thrusters can provide vertical lift for vertical take-off and landing of the rotorcraft. The thrusters of the rotorcraft can articulate to a horizontal position to facilitate horizontal flight. The main rotor of the rotorcraft can continue to provide vertical lift for the rotorcraft in horizontal flight, as well as operate in an autorotation mode. In the event of a failure of the main power source of the rotorcraft, the main rotor in autorotation mode can safety land the rotorcraft. In the autorotation mode, the main rotor can create electrical energy that is stored in a battery and can be used to power the plurality of thrusters. The rotorcraft can also be configured in an anti-torque mode, where the thrusters cancel out the torque of the main rotor.

A rotorcraft that utilizes both a main compound rotor and a plurality of tiltrotors is disclosed. The main rotor and the thrusters can provide vertical lift for vertical take-off and landing of the rotorcraft. The thrusters of the rotorcraft can articulate to a horizontal position to facilitate horizontal flight. The main rotor of the rotorcraft can continue to provide vertical lift for the rotorcraft in horizontal flight, as well as operate in an autorotation mode. In the event of a failure of the main power source of the rotorcraft, the main rotor in autorotation mode can safety land the rotorcraft. In the autorotation mode, the main rotor can create electrical energy that is stored in a battery and can be used to power the plurality of thrusters. The rotorcraft can also be configured in an anti-torque mode, where the thrusters cancel out the torque of the main rotor.

An apparatus including a cylindrical rotating body having a surface section that functions as a driving wheel or a working member. The apparatus includes a main body, a cylindrical rotating body disposed below the main body, and a control unit configured to control driving of the cylindrical rotating body, where the cylindrical rotating body includes a motor, and an exterior body configured to be rotated by the motor, and the exterior body or a member provided on a surface of the exterior body functions as a driving wheel or a working member.

An apparatus including a cylindrical rotating body having a surface section that functions as a driving wheel or a working member. The apparatus includes a main body, a cylindrical rotating body disposed below the main body, and a control unit configured to control driving of the cylindrical rotating body, where the cylindrical rotating body includes a motor, and an exterior body configured to be rotated by the motor, and the exterior body or a member provided on a surface of the exterior body functions as a driving wheel or a working member.

An aerial vehicle including a first wing structure and a second wing structure which intersects the first wing structure perpendicularly at a position offset from a midpoint of a transverse axis of the first wing structure in a direction towards a first wingtip of the first wing structure. The aerial vehicle may further include a first set of at least two propellers with respective propeller rotational axes disposed side-by-side along a portion of the first wing structure extending between the midpoint of the transverse axis of the first wing structure and a second wingtip of the first wing structure. The aerial vehicle may further include a second set of at least two propellers with respective propeller rotational axes disposed side-by-side along a first portion of the second wing structure extending from a first surface of the first wing structure. The aerial vehicle may further include a third set of at least two propellers with respective propeller rotational axes disposed side-by-side along a second portion of the second wing structure extending from a second surface of the first wing structure.

An aerial vehicle including a first wing structure and a second wing structure which intersects the first wing structure perpendicularly at a position offset from a midpoint of a transverse axis of the first wing structure in a direction towards a first wingtip of the first wing structure. The aerial vehicle may further include a first set of at least two propellers with respective propeller rotational axes disposed side-by-side along a portion of the first wing structure extending between the midpoint of the transverse axis of the first wing structure and a second wingtip of the first wing structure. The aerial vehicle may further include a second set of at least two propellers with respective propeller rotational axes disposed side-by-side along a first portion of the second wing structure extending from a first surface of the first wing structure. The aerial vehicle may further include a third set of at least two propellers with respective propeller rotational axes disposed side-by-side along a second portion of the second wing structure extending from a second surface of the first wing structure.

In an embodiment, an aircraft includes an airframe and a first propulsion assembly coupled to the airframe. The first propulsion assembly includes a first rotor hub and a first plurality of rotor blades non-uniformly spaced about the first rotor hub and operable to rotate in a rotor plane with the first rotor hub. The aircraft also includes a second propulsion assembly coupled to the airframe. The second propulsion assembly includes a second rotor hub and a second plurality of rotor blades non-uniformly spaced about the second rotor hub and operable to rotate in a rotor plane with the second rotor hub.