A short takeoff and landing (STOL) vehicle which comprises a tail having a surface and a fuselage having a surface, where the tail and the fuselage have a continuity of surfaces where the surface of the tail is directly coupled to the surface of the fuselage. The vehicle further includes a forward-swept wing having a trailing edge and a rotor that is attached to the trailing edge of the forward-swept wing via a pylon, where the rotor has a maximum downward angle from horizontal that is less than or equal to 60° and the STOL vehicle takes off and lands using at least some lift from the forward-swept wing and at least some lift from the rotor.

A tiltrotor has a range of motion between a forward flight position and a hovering position, where a pylon and the tiltrotor are coupled via a telescoping actuator, a rigid bottom bar, and a fixed hinge that is attached between the rigid bottom bar and the tiltrotor. The tiltrotor moves from the forward flight position to the hovering position includes extending the telescoping actuator so that the tilt rotor rotates about the fixed hinge.

A pylon is coupled to a wing. A tiltrotor, having a range of motion, is coupled to the wing via the pylon, such that the tiltrotor is aft of the wing. The tiltrotor includes a redundant drivetrain, including a plurality of motors and a plurality of motor controllers, that drives one or more blades included in the tiltrotor.

A first power source, a second power source, and a power controller are provided, where a vehicle that includes the first power source, the second power source, and the power controller is capable of flying in a transitional mode between a hovering mode and a forward flight mode. The power controller selects one or more of the first power source and the second power source to power a rotor included in the vehicle during the transitional mode.

A tiltrotor has a range of motion between a forward flight position and a hovering position, where a pylon and the tiltrotor are coupled via a telescoping actuator, a rigid bottom bar, and a fixed hinge that is attached between the rigid bottom bar and the tiltrotor. The tiltrotor moves from the forward flight position to the hovering position includes extending the telescoping actuator so that the tilt rotor rotates about the fixed hinge.

Embodiments are directed to a rotor system for an aircraft comprising a gearbox configured to receive torque from a drive train, a mast having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is attached to the gearbox and the mast configured to rotate in response to the torque from the drive train, a rotor hub attached to the second end of the mast, a first light transceiver mounted adjacent to the first end of the mast, wherein the first light transceiver is does not rotate relative to the mast, and a second light transceiver mounted adjacent to the second end of the mast, wherein the second light transceiver rotates with the mast.

Embodiments are directed to a rotorcraft comprising a body having a longitudinal axis, a wing coupled to the body, a single tiltrotor assembly pivotally coupled to the body, and the tiltrotor assembly configured to move between a position generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis during a vertical flight mode and a position generally parallel to the longitudinal axis during a horizontal flight mode. The rotorcraft may further comprise an anti-torque system configured to counteract torque generated by the tiltrotor assembly during vertical flight. The rotorcraft may further comprise a center of gravity compensation system configured to manage a rotorcraft center of gravity during movement of the tiltrotor assembly between the vertical flight mode and the horizontal flight mode.

An anti-torque system for a rotorcraft includes a first tail fan assembly including a plurality of first fan blades and a second tail fan assembly including a plurality of second fan blades. The first tail fan assembly has a larger diameter than the second tail fan assembly. The first fan blades have a larger rotational inertia than the second fan blades such that the second fan blades experience a larger angular acceleration than the first fan blades in response to torque, thereby providing yaw control for the rotorcraft.

During a cruise mode, a cruise-only propeller provides thrust using power from a first power source. During a hovering mode and a transitional mode, the propeller provides no thrust. The first power source includes an internal combustion engine; a second power source includes a high discharge rate battery and a high energy battery. The propeller is electrically connected to the first power source and is electrically disconnected from the second power source. During the hovering mode and the transitional mode, a hover-and-transition-only tiltrotor provides thrust using power from the second power source. During a vertical landing, the tiltrotor switches power sources from the high energy battery to the high discharge rate battery, independent of current draw. The tiltrotor is electrically disconnected from the first power source and is electrically connected to the second power source. During the cruise mode, the tiltrotor provides no thrust.

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.