Patent ID: 7334755
Filing Date: 2008-02-26
Classification: B64C

Abstract:
1. Aircraft comprising: an airframe having a fuselage extending longitudinally between a forward end and an aft end opposite said forward end and at least two fixed wing sets extending laterally from the fuselage; a power plant mounted on the airframe; and at least two rotor wings rotatably mounted on the airframe, each rotor wing including a plurality of blades extending outward from a central hub to blade tips; wherein a first fixed wing set of the fixed wing sets is positioned closer to the forward end of the fuselage than a second fixed wing set of the fixed wing sets and the second fixed wing set is positioned closer to the aft end of the fuselage than the first fixed wing set, wherein the fixed wing sets are configured to enable transitioning the aircraft to fixed wing flight by stopping all rotors substantially simultaneously; wherein the aircraft has a partial rotation mode in which at least one of the rotor wings is rotated by the power plant while at least one other of the rotor wings is locked to prevent rotation thereof and a fixed mode in which all of the rotor wings are locked to prevent rotation thereof; and wherein the blade tips of the rotor wings circumscribe respective circles centered on the corresponding central hubs during rotation of the rotor wings and each fixed wing set is located generally below the circumscribed circle of only one of the rotor wings.