Patent ID: 8011614

Claim:
A vertical take off and landing rotorcraft comprising: a plurality of rotor blades rotatably mounted on a hub to a central shaft; a power ring, configured to not substantially contribute to lift, rotatably mounted via a plurality of struts, to a concentric shaft, concentric with the central shaft; at least one thrust engine mounted to the power ring, for rotating the power ring and the concentric shaft; a transmission, coupled to the central shaft and the concentric shaft, for converting rotary motion of the concentric shaft to rotary motion in an opposite direction of rotation of the central shaft, to rotate the plurality of rotor blades to provide lift; and a shroud, surrounding the power ring, for containing noise from the at least one thrust engine; and a frame, coupled to the transmission, and supporting the shroud, the frame providing a mounting point for the shroud and means to carry a load entirely beneath the power ring; wherein the rotating mass of the power ring counteracts torque of the plurality of rotor blades; and wherein the plurality of rotor blades are solely powered by the at least one thrust engine, via the central shaft, the transmission, and the power ring.