A multirotor aircraft that includes a chassis, at least three engines that are equipped with propellers, and one or more axial free wings that are connected to the chassis by axial connections. The leading edges of the one or more axial free wings are designed to face constantly same direction when the multirotor flying, and the attack angles of the one or more axial free wings are designed to be changed relatively to the chassis due to flow of air over the one or more axial free wings.

An autogyro includes a fuselage with a rotor. The rotor includes rotor blades which are arranged on an upper face of the fuselage, and a rotor drive which temporarily drives the rotor via a first motor. The rotor blades autorotate via an airflow.

A system for altitude control of an autogyro includes an unpowered rotor for generating lift and a forward propulsion system for generating a horizontal thrust component of a thrust vector for propelling the autogyro forward during flight. The system for altitude control also includes at least one thrust steering control devices configured to steer thrust generated by the forward propulsion system such that the forward propulsion system generates a vertical thrust component of the thrust vector.

A coupled battery and motor controller thermal management system is disclosed. In various embodiments, a motor controller and a heat sink are coupled thermally to a battery. At least a portion of waste heat generated by the motor controller is transferred to the thermal mass of the battery during at least a first mode of operation in which a relatively low amount of ambient air flows through the heat sink.

The present invention comprises a novel propulsion method and apparatus for personal air vehicles generally consisting of gyroscopic movable assembly containing a gyroscope flywheel that produces thrust. In a preferred embodiment the gyroscope is hubless. The gyroscope flywheel integrates permanent magnets along its perimeter ring while spokes with an airfoil cross-section and positive incidence angle create airflow when rotated. The spokes couple the gyroscope's perimeter ring with a smaller central hubless ring. Proximate to the gyroscope's flywheel is an electromagnet fixed assembly that produces phasing electromagnetic fields that rotate the gyroscopic movable assembly. The invention comprises a self-contained apparatus with no external motor because the assembly is a motor with a self-stabilizing gyroscope that produces directional airflow that can be used to propel air, land and sea vehicles.

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 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 multirotor aircraft that includes a chassis, at least three engines that are equipped with propellers, and one or more axial free wings that are connected to the chassis by axial connections. The leading edges of the one or more axial free wings are designed to face constantly same direction when the multirotor flying, and the attack angles of the one or more axial free wings are designed to be changed relatively to the chassis due to flow of air over the one or more axial free wings.

A suspended aerial vehicle system includes an aerial vehicle with a thruster assembly and a supporting line attached to the aerial vehicle that is capable of supporting at least some of the weight of the aerial vehicle. The supporting line may have an adjustable length which when varied, and in coordination with variations in a thrust characteristic of the aerial vehicle, may change the position of the aerial vehicle. Other aspects are also described and claimed.

A flight control pump system includes an electrical machine configured to operate in a motor mode and in a generator mode. A pump is operatively connected to be driven by the electrical machine in the motor mode. An overriding clutch is operatively connected to the electrical machine and to the pump to transfer torque from a main transmission to drive the pump and the electrical machine in the generator mode, and to decouple the main transmission from the electrical machine and the pump in the motor mode.