Patent ID: 11919631
Assignee: ARCHER AVIATION, INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 19:
20. A method for operating an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, comprising:
independently controlling tilts of a first plurality of proprotors mounted to a wing of the aircraft and positioned at least partially forward of the leading edge of the wing to provide vertical thrust for lifting the aircraft during vertical take-off and landing and to provide forward thrust during cruise; and
independently controlling tilts of a second plurality of proprotors mounted to the wing of the aircraft and positioned at least partially rearward of the trailing edge of the wing to provide vertical thrust for lifting the aircraft during vertical take-off and landing and to provide forward thrust during cruise, wherein each proprotor of the second plurality of proprotors has fewer blades that each proprotor of the first plurality of proprotors,
wherein the wing is a single wing that extends across a fuselage of the aircraft or a single pair of wings extending from each side of the fuselage, wherein the single wing or single pair of wings are the only wings of the aircraft, and the aircraft comprises at least one tail extending from the fuselage and a plurality of booms on each side of the fuselage that are mounted to the single wing or single pair of wings inward of ends of the single wing or single pair of wings, wherein each boom supports one proprotor of the first plurality of proprotors and one proprotor of the second plurality of proprotors, and wherein, for a respective boom, a rearward end of a respective proprotor of the first plurality of proprotors is pivotably mounted to a forward-most end of the respective boom and a forward end of a respective proprotor of the second plurality of proprotors is pivotably mounted to a rearward-most end of the respective boom, wherein a midpoint of each boom is mounted to the wing such that proprotors mounted to a respective boom are equidistant from the wing, and wherein the booms decrease in length from inward-most booms to outward-most booms such that: an inward-most proprotor of the second plurality of proprotors is rearward of an outermost proprotor of the second plurality of proprotors, and an inward-most proprotor of the first plurality of proprotors is forward of an outermost proprotor of the first plurality of proprotors, and wherein all propulsion available for the aircraft is provided by the first and second plurality of proprotors mounted to the single wing or single pair of wings.