[Object] To maximize static thrust of a ducted fan.

[Solving Means] This ducted fan 1 includes a duct 10, a fan 20, a motor 30, a housing 40, and stators 50. The fan 20 includes a hub 21 disposed concentric with the duct 10 and four blades 22 arranged at equal intervals on the outer circumference of the hub 21. A chord length CL of the blade 22 gradually decreases toward a tip 22A from the root. In contrast, the chord length CL of the blade 22 increases to the tip 21B from a tip vicinity portion 22B.

A male part and a female part can reversibly couple aircraft to one another using an attachment mechanism. The male part includes a wall forming a shaft and is operable to attach to a first aircraft. The female part includes a wall forming a cavity and is operable to attach to a second aircraft. The attachment mechanism can regulate a mechanical engagement between the shaft on the male part and the cavity on the female part while the first aircraft and the second aircraft are airborne or on land. The attachment mechanism is operable to switch between an engaged position and a disengaged position. In the engaged position, the attachment mechanism initiates the mechanical engagement to rigidly attach the first and the second aircraft to one another. In the disengaged position, the attachment mechanism discontinues the mechanical engagement to detach the first and the second aircraft from one another.

A quadcopter has a fuselage and four rotors, each defining a thrust vector. An onboard camera system includes a gimbal with a roll axis and a pitch axis. Right side motors are mounted with a dihedral angle so that their respective thrust vectors intersect at a common focal point located above the fuselage. Left side motors are mounted with a dihedral angle so that their respective thrust vectors intersect at a common focal point located above the fuselage. The tilted thrust vectors provide yaw stability which allows flight yaw control to be used as yaw control of the onboard camera.

Described are apparatus and processes for reconfiguring aerial vehicles, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) during navigation of the aerial vehicle between a maneuverability configuration and an efficiency configuration. When an aerial vehicle needs to be able to quickly maneuver in any direction (vertical, horizontal, pitch, roll, yaw) it is operating in a maneuverability configuration. When configured to operate in the maneuverability configuration, the primary function of the aerial vehicle configuration is to increase maneuverability of the aerial vehicle. When the aerial vehicle is navigating in a direction that is substantially horizontal, for example when navigating between locations, it may be configured to operate in an efficiency configuration. When configured to operate in the efficiency configuration, the primary function of the aerial vehicle configuration is to increase efficiency of the aerial vehicle and reduce power consumption.

The present disclosure provides a system and device for drones with ducted rotors. In some aspects, drones may comprise one or more systems of ducted rotors. In some embodiments, ducted rotors may increase the durability of the drone, limiting exposure of the rotors to external conditions and objects. In some aspects, a drone with ducted rotors may comprise a control vane or cone that may direct airflow within the drone as a mechanism to control flight path. In some implementations, a drone may comprise expandable landing gear than may allow for controlled landing, even in the event of rotor failure. In some aspects, a drone may comprise rotatable ducted rotors.

A two degrees of freedom actuator for example for multi-bladed rotor of an aircraft with at least two blades that are driven in rotation about a main rotation axis by primary actuator, and a secondary actuator that is arranged to rotate each of said blades about the respective blades' longitudinal axis, with a synchronization means that is operatively arranged for driving the secondary actuator based on an azimuth of the rotor about the main axis for obtaining a determined cyclic pitch of a given amplitude for each blade depending on the azimuth of the rotor.

A ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of low-energy high-rate maneuvers for both vertical roll control and horizontal pitch control. The maneuverability of the UAV is enhanced by equipping the ducted fans with respective piezoelectric-actuated thrust vectoring flaps. Thrust vector control is achieved by controlling the angular positions of a plurality of thrust vector flaps pivotably coupled at respective outlets of a plurality of ducts having fan rotors at the inlets. Each thrust vectoring flap has only one degree of freedom in the frame of reference of the UAV, namely, rotation about a single axis that is perpendicular to the axis of the duct. The angular position of the flap is controlled by sending electrical signals to a piezoelectric actuator (e.g., a piezoelectric bimorph actuator) having a voltage sufficient to cause the piezoelectric actuator to bend.

Disclosed is a drone rotor cage. The drone rotor cage may include a motor housing, a plurality of spars, and a plurality of ribs. The plurality of spars may extend from the motor housing. Each of the plurality of spars may have a spar height and a spar thickness. The spar height may be greater than the spar thickness. Each of the ribs may extend from a respective one of the plurality of spars. Each of the plurality of ribs may have a rib height and a rib thickness. The rib height may be greater than the rib thickness. The plurality of spars and the plurality of ribs may define a space sized to allow a rotor to spin freely when the rotor cage is attached to a drone.

A technique for power an apparatus during a mission includes powering the apparatus with a first energy storage device during a first mission segment of the mission. The first energy storage device has a first energy density and a first peak power rating. The apparatus is powered with a second energy storage device, distinct from the first energy storage device, during a second mission segment of the mission. The second energy storage device has a second energy density lower than the first energy density and a second peak power rating that is greater than the first peak power rating.

An aircraft impeller (001) and an aircraft, relating to the field of aircraft drive components, the aircraft impeller (001) including a frame body (100) and a rotating wheel part (200); the frame body (100) includes a mounting groove (130), the rotating wheel part (200) being fixedly arranged in the mounting groove (130); the mounting groove (130) has an axial centre line (105); the mounting groove (130) also has an open face and a bottom face (131) arranged opposite to one another; the rotating wheel part (200) includes at least one vane (210) distributed around the axial centre line (105), the vane (210) including a windward face (211); at the connecting point of the windward face (211) and the open face, the angle of the tangent plane of the windward face (211) and the open face is an acute angle.