US 12,168,508 B2
Tilting hexrotor aircraft
Brent C. Ross, Flower Mound, TX (US); Kirk L. Groninga, Keller, TX (US); Steven R. Ivans, Ponder, TX (US); Steve R. Schafer, Fort Worth, TX (US); Brad Joseph Passe, Irving, TX (US); and Nicholas Ralph Carlson, Dallas, TX (US)
Assigned to Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed by Bell Textron Inc., Fort Worth, TX (US)
Filed on Mar. 29, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/216,591.
Prior Publication US 2022/0306292 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. B64C 29/00 (2006.01); B64C 39/04 (2006.01); B64C 39/08 (2006.01); B64D 27/24 (2024.01)
CPC B64C 29/0033 (2013.01) [B64C 29/00 (2013.01); B64C 39/04 (2013.01); B64C 39/08 (2013.01); B64D 27/24 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aircraft comprising:
a fuselage;
a wing connected to the fuselage;
first and second booms connected to the wing on opposite sides of the fuselage;
no more than six propulsion systems, the propulsion systems including:
first and second forward propulsion systems tiltably connected to forward ends of the first and second booms such that the first and second forward propulsion systems are tiltable between a first position when the aircraft is in a hover mode in which the first and second forward propulsion systems rotate in a horizontal plane and a second position when the aircraft is in a cruise mode;
first and second aft propulsion systems fixedly attached proximate aft ends of the first and second booms, wherein each of the aft propulsions systems is angled outboard from a top surface of the one of the booms to which it is attached such that an axis of rotation of the aft propulsion system forms a non-zero angle outboard from a vertical axis; and
first and second wing-mounted propulsion systems connected to outboard ends of wings;
wherein the first and second wing-mounted propulsion systems are tiltable between a first position when the aircraft is in the hover mode and a second position when the aircraft is in the cruise mode;
wherein each of the first and second aft propulsion systems includes a rotor mast and a fairing configured to surround the rotor mast;
wherein each of a height of the fairings relative to a radius of the aft propulsion systems and a width of the fairings relative to a width of the booms is configured to minimize rotor-boom noise; and
wherein each of the propulsion systems includes a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of rotor blades.