A multi-rotor aircraft includes a fuselage, a propulsion engine coupled to the fuselage that generates thrust to propel the aircraft along a first vector during forward flight, and rotors coupled to the fuselage, each rotor comprising blades, each rotor coupled to a motor, and each motor configured to supply power to and draw power from the coupled rotor. The aircraft includes a flight control system configured to control the motors coupled to the rotors in a power managed regime in which a net electrical power, consisting of a sum of the power being supplied to or drawn from each rotor by its motor, is maintained within a range determined by a feedback control system of the flight control system. The flight control system can also be leveraged to adjust rotor control inputs to modify at least one of thrust, roll, pitch, or yaw of the multi-rotor aircraft.

A rotary wing aircraft having an electrical installation including at least one thermopile for powering at least one piece of electrical load equipment. Technical specifications for the thermopile specify: a usable power for supplying to the load equipment in the range 20 W to 200 kW, a power rise time lapse lying in the range 3 s to 30 s, and a low operating time for usefully supplying a predetermined quantity of electrical energy lying in the range 10 s to 180 s. The invention applies in particular to rotary wing aircraft.

A rotary wing aircraft having an electrical installation including at least one thermopile for powering at least one piece of electrical load equipment. Technical specifications for the thermopile specify: a usable power for supplying to the load equipment in the range 20 W to 200 kW, a power rise time lapse lying in the range 3 s to 30 s, and a low operating time for usefully supplying a predetermined quantity of electrical energy lying in the range 10 s to 180 s. The invention applies in particular to rotary wing aircraft.

The hybrid electric vehicle belongs to the field of small aircraft. This vehicle is used to move people on the ground, like a regular motorcycle and to move people through the air like an autogyro. Hybrid electric vehicle can be used by citizens, organizations, government agencies to perform various tasks: personal and official transport, tourism, monitoring, patrolling, ambulance, etc.

The essence of the described vehicle is a change in the basic design of motorcycle, so that it has a mast and an autogyro rotor that can be removed, as well as the use of two ducted propellers with built-in electric motors, and an additional electric motor for the rotating of rear wheel. In this case, ducted propellers (together with the listed systems of parts, called elements of flight providing (EFP)) can be removed, as well as fixed in two positions. First, in such a way that their plane of rotation is perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the rear wheel (flight mode). And in this situation ducted propellers provide a opportunity where the total thrust vector generated by them is located much lower than in case of conventional autogyros and, accordingly, the vehicle's center of mass can also be located lowin the immediate vicinity of the thrust vector line, this opportunity will allow the vehicle to move steadily as in the air and on the ground. Secondly, in such a way that the ducted propellers (and the other parts of the EFP also) are pressed to the side parts of the hybrid avehicle, in a plane parallel to the plane of rotation of the rear wheel (ground mode) (see FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5).

A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle includes receiving a first signal including information relating to a payload of the unmanned aerial vehicle, retrieving a predetermined value from a memory of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the information of the first signal, and generating a second signal for changing a configuration of an arm of the unmanned aerial vehicle to change a distance of at least one of a plurality of propulsion units of the unmanned aerial vehicle corresponding to the arm from a reference point on a central body of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the predetermined value.

An autogyro rotor blade for generating lift by autorotation defines a root-side inner profile region, which has a first profile. The inner profile region has a tip-side main profile region, which has a second profile different from the first profile, and a profile depth curve that decreases monotonically in the longitudinal direction of the autogyro rotor blade from the region of the blade root in the direction of the blade tip. The autogyro rotor blade has a twist having a twist curve that decreases monotonically from the region of the blade root in the direction of the blade tip. The twist curve has a variable slope in the inner profile region and/or main profile region, and therefore the twist curve is concavely curved in this region.

An autogyro rotor blade for generating lift by autorotation defines a root-side inner profile region, which has a first profile. The inner profile region has a tip-side main profile region, which has a second profile different from the first profile, and a profile depth curve that decreases monotonically in the longitudinal direction of the autogyro rotor blade from the region of the blade root in the direction of the blade tip. The autogyro rotor blade has a twist having a twist curve that decreases monotonically from the region of the blade root in the direction of the blade tip. The twist curve has a variable slope in the inner profile region and/or main profile region, and therefore the twist curve is concavely curved in this region.

An autogyro includes a frame and a rotor hub coupled to the frame. The autogyro also includes a connector coupled to the rotor hub and configured to couple the rotor hub to a ground-based pre-rotator device to rotate the rotor hub during a vertical take-off operation. The autogyro further includes a plurality of rotor blades coupled to the rotor hub, each rotor blade configured such that rotation of the rotor hub, during the vertical take-off operation, results in twisting the rotor blade from a first blade pitch distribution to a second blade pitch distribution.

An unmanned aircraft system has a vertical takeoff and landing flight mode and a forward flight mode. The unmanned aircraft system includes an airframe, a rotor assembly rotatably coupled to the airframe and a propeller rotatably coupled to the airframe. The rotor assembly including at least two rotor blades having tip jets that are operably associated with a compressed gas power system. The propeller is operably associated with an electric power system. In the vertical takeoff and landing flight mode, compressed gas from the compressed gas power system is discharged through the tip jets to rotate the rotor assembly and generate vertical lift. In the forward flight mode, the electric power system drives the propeller to generate forward thrust and autorotation of the rotor assembly generates vertical lift.

An unmanned aircraft system has a vertical takeoff and landing flight mode and a forward flight mode. The unmanned aircraft system includes an airframe, a rotor assembly rotatably coupled to the airframe and a propeller rotatably coupled to the airframe. The rotor assembly including at least two rotor blades having tip jets that are operably associated with a compressed gas power system. The propeller is operably associated with an electric power system. In the vertical takeoff and landing flight mode, compressed gas from the compressed gas power system is discharged through the tip jets to rotate the rotor assembly and generate vertical lift. In the forward flight mode, the electric power system drives the propeller to generate forward thrust and autorotation of the rotor assembly generates vertical lift.