Patent ID: 11912405
Assignee: EMBRAER S.A.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 15:
16. A vertical and short takeoff and landing (VSTOL) aircraft comprising:
an elongate aircraft fuselage which includes a transparent canopy cover moveably mounted to the fuselage between open and closed conditions and defines a longitudinal axis of the aircraft;
a cabin component for aircraft occupants having a transparent occupant canopy, the cabin component being detachably mounted to the aircraft fuselage so as to allow separation of the cabin component and the occupant canopy thereof from the fuselage when the transparent canopy cover operatively associated with the aircraft fuselage is moved into the opened condition thereof; and
a wheeled cradle assembly removably attachable to a forward portion of the cabin component to allow the cabin component and the occupant canopy to be roadable following separation from the fuselage in a forward direction along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft,
a vertical stabilizer positioned at an aft region of the aircraft fuselage;
port and starboard airfoil assemblies extending outwardly from the fuselage; and
port and starboard propulsion units, wherein each of the port and starboard airfoil assemblies comprises:
(i) primary airfoils extending outwardly from a forward region of the aircraft fuselage, and
(ii) secondary gull-wing configured empennage airfoils having an inboard section extending outwardly and upwardly from an aft region of the aircraft fuselage and an outboard section that extends outwardly from a terminal end of the inboard section, the secondary gull-wing configured empennage airfoils being separated from the primary airfoils along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft so as to define a space therebetween, and wherein

each of the port and starboard propulsion units comprises an engine and propellers operably driven by the engine to provide thrust to the aircraft along a thrust line, and wherein
each of the port and starboard airfoil assemblies further comprises winglets at a terminal end of the port and starboard primary airfoils to connect respective terminal ends of the port and starboard primary airfoils and the terminal ends of the outboard sections of the port and starboard secondary gull-wing configured empennage airfoils so as to provide a lateral boundary to the space defined therebetween, and wherein
each of the inboard sections of the port and starboard secondary gull-wing configured empennage airfoils is pivotally connected at a proximal end thereof to an aft portion of the fuselage, and wherein
each of the outboard sections of the port and starboard secondary gull-wing configured empennage airfoils is pivotally connected at a distal end thereof to a respective winglet so that the port and starboard secondary gull-wing configured airfoils are capable of pivotal movements about a substantially horizontal pivot axis between first and second operational positions, and wherein
each of the port and starboard propulsion units are mounted to the outboard sections of the secondary gull-wing configured empennage airfoils within the defined space between the primary airfoil and the secondary gull-wing configured empennage airfoils so as to be pivotable therewith between the first and second operational positions such that a thrust line of the propellers thereof is oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage when the gull-wing configured empennage airfoils are in the first operational position, and the thrust line of the propellers thereof is oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft when the gull-wing configured empennage airfoils are in the second operational position, and wherein
the cradle assembly includes a pair of driven wheels to propel the cabin along a surface when the cabin component is separated from the fuselage and is roadable, and wherein
the detachably mounted cabin component includes retractable aft road wheels which are deployable to allow the cabin component to be moved forwardly away from the aircraft fuselage along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and wherein
a forward portion of the fuselage includes a ramp which is moveable to a lowered condition to allow the aft road wheels of the cabin component to be rolled along the ramp when the cabin component is moved forwardly away from the aircraft fuselage thereby allowing the cabin component to separate from the aircraft.