LARGE FLAT BASED AIRCRAFT CAPABLE OF HOVERING FLIGHT PARTICULARLY FOR THE TRANSPORT OF LENGTHS OF PIPE LINE

摘要

1405737 V.T.O.L. aircraft A P PEDRICK 8 March 1974 10429/74 Heading B7W An aircraft of the type wherein during normal forward propulsion the total lift necessary to support the aircraft in the air is derived from the aerodynamic forces acting on the base of a flat fuselage 1 inclined at a small angle of incidence to the horizontal, characterized in that the aircraft is capable of hovering as a result of lifting forces, at least equal to its total weight, produced by at least two lift producing engine units 8, 9 secured to the tips of stub wings 6, 7 on each side of the fuselage. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 the vertical lift is provided by four engines and rotors 8, 9 of standard forms of helicopter and the horizontal thrust is provided by one or two turbo jet engines 5. In a second embodiment the aircraft is provided with four turbo jet engines which are pivoted to the stub wings so as to provide either a vertical lift or a horizontal thrust. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 the engines 13, 14 are rigidly secured to the stub wings and are of a type which can either drive two bladed rotors 15 to give lift or produce a jet stream for horizontal thrust. The aircraft of this embodiment is capable of carrying pipe lengths 17 which may be lowered through a slot 16.