The invention discloses a helicopter type vehicle having coaxial counter rotating propellers above the cabin of the vehicle, each propeller being fixed in pitch as opposed to conventional helicopter propellers which vary in pitch during rotation of the propeller. The counter rotating propellers provide lift for lifting the vehicle from the surface, and forward thrust on the vehicle is developed by shifting the center of gravity of the vehicle to tilt the axis of rotation of the propellers with the shifting of the center of gravity of the vehicle being accomplished in at least one instance, by mounting the propeller drive motors adjacent the respective propellers and rotating the motors bodily about the axis of rotation of the propellers.
An improved autogyro including a main airframe having a main engine and pusher propeller as customarily applied in autogyros, and a lifting rotor having an auxiliary drive for the lifting rotor for tapping a minor portion of power from the main propulsive engine and transmitting it to the rotor, including a three-stage compound mechanical-hydraulic transmission for transferring power from the main engine to the lift rotor, wherein the hydraulic portion of the transmission serves functions of providing continuously variable transmission speed ratio, torque converter type of inverse speed-torque relationship, a one-way check valve allowing the rotor to free-wheel, an overpressure relief valve to prevent overtorquing of the lift rotor, a bypass valve acting as a clutch to engage and disengage the power, and a manual shut-off valve acting as a rotor brake and rotor parking lock.
An aircraft having a frame (1) and at least a rotor (2a, 2b) for providing lift for the aircraft. The aircraft comprises elements for accommodation purposes. Furthermore, solar cells (5) are arranged on the aircraft for exploiting solar energy, and the rotor (2a, 2b) comprises elements for adjusting the rotor (2a, 2b) to exploit wind energy when the aircraft is substantially stationary.
A helicopter has a power unit supported on an arch support member above an airframe. The power unit may be moved forward and rearward by a trim actuator to trim the helicopter and tilted about pitch and roll axes by control actuators for directional control. The control actuators may form a parallelogram linkage with the arms of the arch support member. Each control actuator may comprise a hydraulic cylinder having two cavities and a pair of pistons which further divide each cavity into a pair of volumes. The arch support member and landing gear assemblies may connect to transversely extending struts. The landing gear assemblies may be designed to progressively deform in case of a high impact landing.
An ultralight helicopter has a pair of counter-rotating rotor assemblies which in combination yield zero net angular momentum when rotating at equal speeds. A single motor drives both rotors through a counter-rotating bevel gear set coupled to a pair of concentrically nested output shafts. In an alternative embodiment, the motor is coupled to the rotors through a hydraulic drive system which includes a hydraulic pump and at least one hydraulic motor driving each of the rotor assemblies. The pilot is advantageously suspended in a "hang-glider" type harness from a single hang point positioned proximate the center of lift of the helicopter. A control bar is fixedly mounted to the frame and is grasped by the pilot suspended in the harness. The pilot maneuvers the helicopter in both the pitch and roll directions by manipulating the control bar. The pilot shifts his own center of gravity relative to the center of gravity of the helicopter while grasping the control bar to thereby maneuver the helicopter.
