Patent ID: 8118552

Claim:
A wind turbine comprising: a tower member having a first end portion that extends to a second end portion; a yaw system rotatably mounted to the second end portion of the tower member; a wind energy collection system operatively coupled to the yaw system, the wind energy collection system including a central hub and a plurality of blade members, each of the plurality of blade members includes a root end portion operatively coupled to the central hub, a tip portion that is cantilevered from the central hub, and an intermediate portion; and, a component manipulating system operatively coupled between at least one of the plurality of blade members and the tower member, the component manipulating system including: a first blade member support structure including a first end pivotally connected to the tower member that extends to a second end coupled to the one of the plurality of blade members; and, a winching system operatively connected between the one of the plurality of blade members and the tower member, the winching system being selectively operated to shift the one of the plurality of blade members relative to the tower member, wherein the winching system is supported entirely by the wind turbine.