Patent ID: 7654486
Filing Date: 2010-02-02
Classification: B64C

Abstract:
1. A personal aircraft (PAC) capable of short take-off and landing (STOL) or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and having a center of gravity, said aircraft comprising, in combination: (a) an elongate fuselage having two lateral sides and forming a passenger compartment, said fuselage being arranged along a longitudinal axis of said aircraft; (b) an elongate fixed wing attached to the fuselage for providing vertical lift to the aircraft upon forward motion thereof through the air, said fixed wing having a leading edge, a trailing edge and a longitudinal wing axis between them, said fixed wing extending outward from the two lateral sides of the fuselage with the wing axis substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of the aircraft, the center of gravity of said aircraft being located in a region between the leading edge and the trailing edge of said wing, said wing having a first wing component extending outward from one lateral side of said fuselage and second wing component extending outward from an opposite lateral side of said fuselage; and (c) at least one thruster disposed in each wing component, substantially midway between said leading edge and said trailing edge thereof, for providing additional vertical lift to said aircraft whether or not said aircraft is in motion, said thruster comprising: (1) at least one shaft mounted for rotation in the respective wing component and extending substantially parallel to said wing axis; and (2) a plurality of fan blades attached to each shaft for movement of air upon rotation of the respective shaft, each fan blade having an outer extremity; (d) a prime mover coupled to rotate said at least one shaft in each wing component in such direction that the outer extremities of the fan blades move rearward, toward the trailing edge of the respective wing component, when above the shaft, and move forward, toward the leading edge of the wing component, when below the shaft, thereby causing air to move in a rearward direction above the shaft; and (e) a shroud disposed on each wing component, adjacent to and above said fan blades, which constricts air that is moved by said fan blades to flow in a direction substantially parallel to said upper surface of said wing, thereby to increase the speed of airflow over said upper surface and enhance the vertical lift of said aircraft wing.