An aircraft engine has a hollow driveshaft with a spool coaxial with the driveshaft and extending through the driveshaft to rotate independently of the driveshaft. A first harmonic cam is mounted on the driveshaft and a second spaced apart harmonic cam is mounted on the spool. At least one combustion cylinder is positioned between the cams along a combustion cylinder axis that is parallel with but radially spaced apart from the driveshaft. A piston assembly is disposed in each end of the combustion cylinder, with each piston assembly engaging a separate cam. A high-pressure compressor turbine is mounted on the driveshaft and driven by movement of a piston assembly, compressing air for the combustion cylinder. A rotating component is mounted on the spool and driven by movement of the other piston assembly. The rotating component may be another compressor turbine, a drive turbine, a fan or a propeller.

A propulsor (101) for an aircraft is shown. The propulsor comprises a propulsive fan (106), and an electric machine (108) configured to drive the propulsive fan. The electric machine has a casing containing electrical and electromechanical components, a shaft which extends outside of the casing and which is connected to the propulsive fan, and a seal to seal the casing around the shaft. A depressurisation system depressurises the casing below an external pressure to prevent electrical breakdown within gas in the casing of the electric machine.

A fully compounding rotorcraft includes a fuselage having first and second wings extending therefrom and configured to provide lift compounding responsive to forward airspeed. A twin boom includes first and second tail boom members that extend aftward from the first and second wings. An empennage is coupled between the aft ends of the tail boom members. An anti-torque system includes a tail rotor that is rotatably coupled to the empennage. An engine is disposed within the fuselage and is configured to provide torque to a main rotor assembly via an output shaft and a main rotor gearbox. An auxiliary propulsive system is coupled to the fuselage and is configured to generate a propulsive thrust to offload at least a portion of a thrust requirement from the main rotor during forward flight, thereby providing propulsion compounding to increase the forward airspeed of the rotorcraft.

A hybrid electric gas turbine engine includes a fan section having a fan, a turbine section having a turbine drivably connected to the fan through a main shaft that extends along a central longitudinal axis, a gas generating core extending along a first axis that is radially offset from the central longitudinal axis, and an electric motor drivably connected to the main shaft, wherein the electric motor is colinear with the main shaft.

Disclosed herein is a VTOL tilt-wing aircraft that serves as a 4-6 passenger airliner for scheduled service between city centers and that is optimized for travel distances from 100-500 miles fully loaded with passengers and fuel. The VTOL aircraft solves technical, cost, and time problems inherent in other forms of transportation, including, but not limited to, rail, passenger airlines, and helicopters. The VTOL aircraft (1) takes off and lands like a helicopter, (2) flies fast like a jet, and (3) costs less than or comparable to a helicopter.

A modular power plant for a rotorcraft comprising at least one lift rotor, the power plant comprising: at least one combustion or electric engine; a main gearbox, comprising a gearbox housing and a toothed wheel arranged in an internal space at least partially delimited by the gearbox housing, the toothed wheel having a degree of rotational freedom about a primary axis of rotation relative to the gearbox housing, the toothed wheel mechanically transmitting an engine torque generated by the at least one engine to the at least one lift rotor; and at least two mechanical connection interfaces, a first mechanical connection interface mechanically connecting the main gearbox to a first engine, and a second mechanical connection interface being left free or mechanically connecting the main gearbox to a second engine.

A method for assisting piloting beyond an altitude that can be reached with only the capabilities of a thermal power plant of a rotorcraft, by supplying power from an electrical power plant. After defining a take-off point of the rotorcraft and a target point, and their respective altitudes, a determination of a first maximum altitude that can be reached by the rotorcraft using only the thermal power plant is carried out according to a first altitude law. Then, an estimate of a second maximum altitude that can be reached by the rotorcraft using the thermal power plant and the electrical power plant jointly driving each rotor of the rotorcraft is made according to a second altitude law. If the second maximum altitude is higher than the altitude of the target point, the rotorcraft can fly to the target point.

Aircraft propulsion systems and aircraft having such propulsion systems are described. The aircraft propulsion systems include a fan, a motor operably connected to the fan by a drive shaft, and an aircraft power generation system operably coupled to the motor to drive rotation of the fan through the drive shaft, wherein the aircraft power generation system comprises a fuel cell configured to generate at least 1 MW of electrical power.

A technique for generating electrical power from an engine in an aerial vehicle includes providing an alternator disk structure (ADS) between the engine and a propeller of the vehicle. The ADS is disposed concentrically with an engine drive shaft that drives the propeller and includes at least two concentric regions, a first region having a stator and a second region having a rotor. The first region is rotationally fixed relative to the engine, and the second region is coupled to a drive shaft of the engine. As the engine rotates the drive shaft, the rotor disposed in the second region spins concentrically relative to the stator disposed in the first region, thereby inducing electrical current in windings of the stator. The rotor and the stator thus work together to generate electrical power, which may be conveyed from the stator to electrical subsystems and controls of the vehicle.

A cooling architecture for an integrated hydrogen-electric engine having a radiator and a hydrogen fuel cell includes a t and a manifold. The turbine is disposed in fluid communication with the hydrogen fuel cell. The turbine is configured to compress a predetermined amount of air and direct a first portion of the predetermined amount of the compressed air to the fuel cell for generating electricity that powers the integrated hydrogen-electric engine. The manifold is disposed in fluid communication with the turbine and positioned to direct a second portion of the predetermined amount of compressed air to the radiator for removing heat from the radiator.