Patent ID: 7857253

Claim:
A ducted fan air flow vehicle comprising: a fuselage and associated air flow control surfaces; at least one air flow duct having a peripheral wall, an upper inlet end and a lower outlet end, said at least one air flow duct located along said fuselage and enclosing a fan arranged to force surrounding ambient air to flow through said at least one air flow duct from said upper inlet end to said lower outlet end, thereby creating force directed along a duct flow axis which provides vertical lift force and which, when the duct axis is tilted with respect to vertical, also provides a force component in the direction of tilt; and at least one opening in said peripheral wall of said at least one air flow duct between said upper inlet end and said lower outlet end, providing an additional path for ambient air to flow into or out of said at least one air flow duct thereby reducing resistance of surrounding air to vehicle motion.