The invention relates to a hybrid drone for transporting or delivering objects 124, comprising at least one first wing 102 having an airfoil, at least one first and one second longitudinal drive unit 104, wherein the first longitudinal drive unit 104 and the second longitudinal drive unit 104 are arranged on the at least one wing 102, an object-holding device 110 formed on an upper side or on an underside between the first and second longitudinal drive units 104 and for holding an object 124, and a regulating unit formed for regulating the hybrid drone, in particular the drive units, based on control signals. The hybrid drone further comprises at least one first high drive unit 105, wherein the first high drive unit 105 is aligned or is pivotally alignable such that a thrust force that can be generated by means of the high drive unit 105 acts substantially orthogonally to the longitudinal direction 106 and substantially parallel to a vertical axis 116 of the hybrid drone, and the first high drive unit 105 is arranged with a defined lever distance relative to the center of gravity of the hybrid drone, and wherein a pitch angle of the hybrid drone in the flight state is adjustable by means of the first high drive unit 105. In addition, at least one holding element is provided, which is associated with the underside in a front region of the hybrid drone, wherein the holding element is configured for releasably arranging, in particular for hooking, the hybrid drone on a top-ending vertical receiving structure.

A hybrid/electric propulsion architecture for a multi-rotor rotary wing aircraft, including an electricity generator driven by an internal combustion engine, and configured to operate in motor mode, a rectifier configured to convert an alternating current delivered by the electricity generator into direct current, an electrical network including a high voltage direct current (HVDC) bus, electrical energy storage means connected to the electrical network, during electrical energy regeneration on the HVDC bus, depending on the state of charge of the storage means: the storage means are configured to recover electrical energy, the storage means and the rectifier are configured to recover electrical energy, and the electricity generator operating in motor mode is configured to recover electrical energy.

An apparatus including a thrust vectoring system including a centrifugal fan and a nozzle configured to output an exhaust from the centrifugal fan, wherein the thrust vectoring system is configured to controllably orient at least one of, the centrifugal fan or the nozzle, to vector a thrust generated by the exhaust.

Variations of an aerial vehicle, all with capability of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), with one variation comprising at least three engines, at least three rotors, a flight control system, battery, and propulsion system. The second VTOL aerial vehicle variation being a hybrid with engine-powered rotors and electric-powered rotors configured to work with a flight control system and battery. The first and second variations having the option of a genset system which recharges the battery. The third VTOL aerial vehicle variation being all-electric-powered rotors configured to work with a flight control system and a genset system which powers the rotors and/or recharges the battery.

A vehicle has a pod carrier, a pod rotatably connected to the pod carrier, and an energy attenuating system (EAS) disposed between the pod and the pod carrier to attenuate forces associated with a deflection of the pod relative to the pod carrier. A method of operating an energy attenuating system (EAS) is provided for attenuating energy associated with movement between a pod and a pod carrier. The method includes providing a vehicle having a pod carrier and providing the pod carrier with an EAS configured in an undeflected state.

A ducted fan assembly for generating thrust during edgewise forward flight. The ducted fan assembly includes a duct having an inlet with a leading portion and a diffuser with a trailing portion during the edgewise forward flight. A fan disposed within the duct is configured to rotate relative to the duct about a fan axis to generate an airflow through the duct from the inlet to the diffuser. An active flow control system includes a plurality of injectors including a first injector configured to inject pressurized air substantially tangential with the leading portion of the inlet and a second injector configured to inject pressurized air substantially tangential with the trailing portion of the diffuser such that when the injectors are injecting pressurized air, flow separation of the airflow at the leading portion of the inlet and the trailing portion of the diffuser is reduced.

Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft can provide opportunities to incorporate aerial transportation into transportation networks for cities and metropolitan areas. However, VTOL aircraft can be sensitive to uneven weight distributions, e.g., the payload of an aircraft is primarily loaded in the front, back, left, or right. When the aircraft is loaded unevenly, the center of mass of the aircraft may shift substantially enough to negatively impact performance of the aircraft. Thus, in turn, there is an opportunity that the VTOL may be loaded unevenly if seating, luggage placement, and/or positions of internal components are not coordinated. Among other advantages, dynamically assigning the payloads and adjusting components of the VTOL aircraft can increase VTOL safety by ensuring the VTOL aircraft is loaded evenly and meets all weight requirements; can increase transportation efficiency by increasing rider throughput; and can increase the availability of the VTOL services to all potential riders.

A rotorcraft-convertible motorcar includes a passenger cabin with at least one seat, a pair of front wheels, a central rear wheel, and two pairs of left and right supporting arms located on opposed sides of the passenger cabin, each supporting arm carrying a respective rotor assembly. The supporting arms are pivotally connected to the passenger cabin so that the rotorcraft-convertible car is convertible between an on-road configuration, where the supporting arms with the rotor assemblies are arranged inside a lateral overall size of the passenger cabin, and a flight configuration, where the supporting arms with the rotor assemblies are arranged at least partially outside the overall lateral size of the passenger cabin. The supporting arms and the rotor assemblies are configured so that in the on-road configuration the rotor assemblies are accommodated underneath the passenger cabin, on opposed sides of the central rear wheel.

A ducted fan propulsion comprises a duct with a cutout and a movable duct section that is moved between a retracted position within the cutout and am extended position relative to the duct. An actuator is disposed within the duct wall and is connected to the movable duct section with actuating linkage. A control linkage connects the movable duct section to the cutout edges. The movable duct section is extended when the ducted fan propulsion transitions from vertical takeoff to a level flight or transitions from level flight to a vertical landing. The movable duct section is retracted into cutout an becomes integrated with the duct during level flight.

A system for remote pilot control of an electric aircraft in autopilot mode including a remote computing device configured to receive a user input and generate a control datum as a function of the pilot input, a flight controller configured to receive the control datum from the remote computing device, and generate a command datum as a function of the control datum and an authority status, and the remote computing device configured to receive the command datum from the flight controller, and display the command datum.