In various embodiments, a tilt-wing aircraft includes a fuselage; a first wing tiltably mounted at or near a forward end of the fuselage; and a second wing rotatably mounted to the fuselage at a position aft of the first wing. A first plurality of rotors is mounted on the first wing at locations on or near a leading edge of the first wing, with two or more rotors being mounted on wing portions on each side of the fuselage; and a second plurality of rotors mounted on the second wing at locations on or near a leading edge of the second wing, with two or more rotors being mounted on wing portions on each side of the fuselage. A flight control system generates a set of actuators and associated actuator parameters to achieve desired forces and moments.

A tandem wing aircraft having a fore wing, an aft wing, and a middle wing, attached relative to the aircraft and each other such that the middle wing provides a substantial portion of the total lift at landing speeds, and a minimal portion of the total lift at cruise speeds. At cruise speeds, induced drag is minimized, permitting higher speeds, greater fuel efficiency, and/or greater payload. Advantageously, the wing loading at cruise speeds is higher providing better passenger comfort while still providing controllability and safety at landing speeds.

An aircraft comprising fixed wings, an upper rotor system, and a lower rotor system. The upper rotor system comprises only one upper blade. Furthermore, the upper rotor system is configured to rotate the upper blade in a clockwise rotational direction about a yaw axis of the aircraft in a vertical take-off mode, and halt rotation of the upper blade in a first rearward orientation parallel to the roll axis of the aircraft in a high-speed cruise mode. The lower rotor system comprises only one lower blade. Additionally, the lower rotor system is configured to rotate the lower blade in a counter-clockwise rotational direction, opposite the clockwise rotational direction, about the yaw axis in the vertical take-off mode, and halt rotation of the lower blade in a second rearward orientation parallel to the roll axis in the high-speed cruise mode.

An aerial vehicle, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, includes a fuselage having a forward end, an aft end, and a duct extending between said forward end and said aft end, said duct being oriented along a longitudinal axis of said fuselage; a primary propulsion unit mounted within said duct and generating lift for upward and downward motion while said fuselage is in a substantially vertical orientation and thrust for forward motion while said fuselage is in a substantially horizontal orientation; a plurality of airfoils each having a proximal end attached at opposite sides of the fuselage, said airfoils providing lift during forward motion of said fuselage; and a plurality of secondary propulsion units generating thrust to tilt the fuselage between said substantially vertical orientation and said substantially horizontal orientation.

A pylon assembly for a tiltrotor aircraft includes a rotor assembly rotatably coupled to a fixed pylon and operable to rotate between a vertical takeoff and landing orientation and a forward flight orientation. The rotor assembly includes a proprotor operable to produce a slipstream. A wing extension is rotatably disposed to the outboard end of the fixed pylon such that the rotor assembly and the wing extension are separated by at least a portion of the fixed pylon. The wing extension has a forward edge and an outboard end. A winglet is coupled to the outboard end of the wing extension and has a forward edge. The wing extension and the winglet are configured to rotate in synchrony with the rotor assembly such that the forward edges of the wing extension and the winglet remain in the slipstream of the proprotor.

An aircraft defining longitudinal, lateral and vertical directions the aircraft comprising:

a main wing and a tail, each being pivotable about the lateral direction;
a plurality of main propellers mounted to the main wing, and configured to pivot with the main wing;
at least one cruise propeller mounted to the tail, and configured to pivot with the tail;
the main propellers defining a swept disc area (A.sub.disc), and the main wing defines a wing area (Awing); wherein
a ratio of the disc swept area to the main wing area (A.sub.disc:A.sub.wing) is between 1 and 2.

An aircraft defining longitudinal, lateral and vertical directions the aircraft comprising: a main wing and a tail, each being pivotable about the lateral direction (B); a plurality of main propellers mounted to the main wing, and configured to pivot with the main wing; at least one cruise propeller mounted to the tail, and configured to pivot with the tail; each main propeller being stowable from a deployed position to a stowed position; wherein each main propeller has a fixed pitch, and each cruise propeller has a variable pitch.

An adaptive guided wind sonde (AGWS) includes a main body defining a longitudinal axis including a nose end and a tail end including a body that has main wings attached. Secondary wings are on the nose end. A measurement and control system inside the body includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) for providing position and velocity, and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is for providing inertial measurements. A wing driver is for adjusting a position of at least one of the secondary wings or control surfaces when included on the main wings. A Meteorological Sensor Suite (MSS) is for providing environmental data. An adaptive controller receives data including the position, the velocity, the inertial measurements, and the environmental data for generating wind calculations including a wind speed and a wind direction, and for providing autopilot for the AGWS. Wireless communications is for wirelessly transmitting the wind calculations.

A pivoting wing system, capable of vertical take-off and landing, having a hub connected to one or more wings provided on a spanwise axis. The wings are further provided with one or more thrust producing devices mounted to the top and bottom of the wings. The thrust producing devices are configured pivot the wings about the spanwise axis. The wings generate lift for forward flight situations, and the configuration allows for controlled vertical and horizontal flight. The wings may also be configured as rotary elements and enable the system to take flight like a helicopter.

An improved aircraft system is provided. The improved aircraft system comprises an adjustable vortices device that may be attached to an aircraft to create various vortices effects, which increase take-off weight and improve low-speed handling of the aircraft. The adjustable vortices device comprises a linear actuator, a pivot mechanism, and a vortex generator. The pivot mechanism is operably connected to the linear actuator in a way such that the translational energy of the linear actuator causes the pivot mechanism to rotate about a central axis. The vortex generator is moveably attached to a surface of the aircraft and coupled to the pivot mechanism in a way such that rotating the pivot mechanism causes the vortex generator to rotate about a central axis, which alters the angle the vortex generators move through the air.