An aircraft includes a fuselage having an upper surface and a lower surface and a plurality of planetary modules housed in the fuselage, an individual planetary module having a first jet engine directed outward of the upper surface of the fuselage and a second jet engine directed outward of the lower surface of the fuselage, the individual planetary module rotatable within the fuselage about a vertical axis.

The present invention provides an engine 310 of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft 300, wherein the engine is configured to be movable with respect to an aircraft component 342 of the aircraft 300 between a hover position for take-off and landing, and a cruise position for forward flight, wherein the engine 310 comprises an aerodynamic component 332 having at least one aerodynamic element 334 movable between a first position 336 according to a first operational state of the aircraft, and a second position 338 according to a second operational state of the aircraft, the aerodynamic element defining an aerodynamic surface in contact with an airstream passing through the engine.

The present disclosure provides a device for propulsion in a vehicle. The device comprises one or more inlets for allowing a fluid, one or more thrust sources provided for compress and accelerating the fluid, a group of dedicated or rotating exhaust strategic located in the vehicle and provided at a predetermined directions for generating the thrust in the predetermined direction to maneuver the vehicle, a system of ducts to distribute the compressed and accelerated fluid along the vehicle, from the thrust sources to the group of exhaust, an onboard computer and electronic controlled valves to regulate the fluid distributed individually to each exhaust.

A VTOL aircraft having thrust and directional control comprises a fan for providing a centrifugal flow of air. At least one duct allows for and directs air flow. At least one nozzle allows for exhaust release. Each of the at least one nozzle has a first end attached to one of each of the at least one duct. Each of the at least one nozzle has a turn measuring 90 and faces downward from the second end of each of the at least one duct. Each of the at least one nozzle has a second end at which is a vane for redirecting airflow. The VTOL aircraft also has an attachment for landing.

A method of flying a vehicle said method including the steps of powering a plurality of vertical thrustors, said vertical thrustors coupled to an airframe and positioned to provide thrust in substantially one direction. Also, powering a plurality of horizontal thrustors, said horizontal thrustors disposed to provide thrust in a direction substantially orthogonal to the thrust of the vertical thrustors, and adjusting the angle of attack from an optional wing, said wing adjustable in both a horizontal and vertical direction. In operation, the position of the wing and the thrust from the vertical thrustors and horizontal thrustors operate together to provide for light of the flying vehicle. In some embodiments, when the horizontal velocity is sufficient, the vertical thrustors taper back and the weight of the flying vehicle will be supported at altitude by the wings, substantially using only horizontal thrust.

A flying vehicle including powering a plurality of vertical thrustors, said vertical thrustors coupled to an airframe and positioned to provide thrust in substantially one direction. Also, powering a plurality of horizontal thrustors, said horizontal thrustors disposed to provide thrust in a direction substantially orthogonal to the thrust of the vertical thrustors, and adjusting the angle of attack from a wing, said wing adjustable in both a horizontal and vertical direction. The vertical or horizontal thrustors include electrically driven rotor which includes a series of blades mounted around the rotor. The rotor and blades are positioned inside an input nozzle with a tapered inlet. The blades are positioned near the narrowest portion of the input nozzle. Multiple layers of blades may be employed to achieve a desired thrust including stacked blades with varying blade pitch.

A vertical take-off and landing aircraft that includes a fuselage which has a nose end, a tail end, and a plurality of seats disposed in an interior of the aircraft with vertical takeoff and conventional aircraft ability. A pair of rear wings extend outwardly from opposing sides of the fuselage between a cockpit and the tail end, and a pair of front wings extend outwardly from opposing sides of the fuselage between the cockpit and the nose end. Each of the pair of rear wings and the pair of front wings includes an adjustably mounted turbine which includes a statically mounted fan pod, a duct rotatably connected to the fan pod, and an adjustable nozzle rotatably connected to the duct. The adjustable nozzle is adjusted to a variety of configurations ranging between a vertical position and a horizontal position via the duct.

A drone having a main housing unit, wherein a set of turbines, a speed controller and an electrical controlling unit are located and is powered by an engine without the necessity for external propellers such that the blade-less engines allows the propellers (or blades) to remain hidden instead of removing them from the overall system. A power source is located within a main housing of the drone system that allows for accelerated airflow for the blade-less engine thus lifting the drone up in the air. The turbines facilitate air flow radially outward from a center of the main housing unit, wherein air is fed to the turbines through an air intake unit at the top of the main housing unit and is then accelerated by the turbines through a plurality of arm units, which force the air into an inlet tunnel located along the perimeter of a nozzle.

The invention is to an optionally piloted aircraft that can takeoff and land conventionally or vertically, and can convert between the two. The aircraft is immune to one or more engine failures during vertical flight through multiple engines and the use of a virtual nozzle. Aerodynamic controls are similarly redundant. Hovering flight is enabled with a novel stabilization system. Long range efficient cruise is achieved by turning off some engines in flight and sealing them into an aerodynamic fairing to achieve low drag. The resulting aircraft is capable of CTOL and VTOL, and is capable of converting between the two modes while in the air or on the ground. The aircraft can also be easily taxied on the ground in the conventional manner. Automatic controls considerably reduce the amount of training a pilot needs to fly and land the aircraft in either VTOL or CTOL mode.

A propulsion system for an aircraft includes a plenum having an intake port and an output port. A fan is coupled to a motor configured to power the fan, and the powered fan is configured to compress ambient air entering the intake port. One or more ejectors are fluidically coupled to the plenum via one or more valves. A nozzle is disposed within the output port and includes a set of vanes. The system operates in a first configuration in which the nozzle vanes are closed and the compressed ambient air exits the plenum only through the one or more valves into the one or more ejectors. The system operates in a second configuration in which the one or more valves are closed, the nozzle vanes are open and the compressed ambient air exits the plenum only through the output port.