System, apparatus and method for long endurance vertical takeoff and landing vehicle

Abstract

A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a fuselage, an empennage having an all-moving horizontal stabilizer located at a tail end of the fuselage, a wing having the fuselage positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing, wherein the wing is configured to transform between a substantially straight wing configuration and a canted wing configuration using a canted hinge located on each side of the fuselage. The VTOL aircraft may further includes one or more retractable pogo supports, wherein a retractable pogo support is configured to deploy from each of the wing's distal ends.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
 a fuselage, wherein the fuselage has a nose end and a tail end;   an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage, wherein the empennage comprises a stabilizer configuration;   two counter-rotating engines that are arranged such that one engine is mounted on the wing at each side of the fuselage; and   a wing;
 wherein the fuselage is positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing; 
 wherein the wing is configured to transform between a vertical configuration and a horizontal configuration using at least one pivotal connector positioned on each side of the fuselage; 
 wherein, during a first phase of takeoff, the wing is in the vertical configuration thereby causing the nose end of the fuselage to lift off the ground while the tail end remains on the ground; 
 wherein, during a second phase of takeoff, the wing transitions from the vertical configuration to the horizontal configuration until the fuselage achieves a predetermined stand-up angle; and 
 wherein, during a third phase of takeoff, the wing is in the horizontal configuration and the aircraft is capable of wingborne flight. 
   
     
     
         2 . The aircraft of  claim 1 , wherein the stabilizer configuration comprises a vertical stabilizer and an all-moving horizontal stabilizer 
     
     
         3 . The aircraft of  claim 1 , wherein the wing has a high aspect ratio. 
     
     
         4 . The aircraft of  claim 1 , wherein each engine is wing-mounted and located at a point between the pivotal connector and the wing's distal ends. 
     
     
         5 . The aircraft of  claim 1 , wherein the aircraft comprises a payload for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. 
     
     
         6 . A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
 a fuselage, wherein the fuselage has a nose end and a tail end;   an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage, wherein the empennage comprises a stabilizer configuration;   one or more engines;   a wing; and   a retractable pogo support; wherein the retractable pogo support is configured to deploy from the fuselage to form a tripod launch and recovery configuration with the empennage.   
     
     
         7 . The aircraft of  claim 6 , wherein the retractable pogo support is deployed using a spring. 
     
     
         8 . The aircraft of  claim 6 , wherein the fuselage is positioned at a predetermined stand-up angle while in the tripod launch and recovery configuration. 
     
     
         9 . The aircraft of  claim 8 , wherein the predetermined stand-up angle is between 45 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         10 . The aircraft of  claim 9 , wherein the predetermined stand-up angle is between 65 and 75 degrees. 
     
     
         11 . The aircraft of  claim 6 , wherein the wing has a high aspect ratio. 
     
     
         12 . The aircraft of  claim 6 , wherein the aircraft comprises two wing-mounted counter-rotating engines, wherein the two counter-rotating engines are arranged such that an engine is mounted on each side of the fuselage. 
     
     
         13 . The aircraft of  claim 6 , wherein the aircraft comprises a payload for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. 
     
     
         14 . The aircraft of  claim 6 , wherein the stabilizer configuration comprises a vertical stabilizer and an all-moving horizontal stabilizer 
     
     
         15 . A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
 a fuselage, wherein the fuselage has a nose end and a tail end;   an empennage located at the tail end of the fuselage, wherein the empennage comprises a stabilizer configuration;   one or more engines;   a wing;
 wherein the fuselage is positioned approximately halfway between the distal ends of the wing; 
 wherein the wing is configured to transform between a substantially straight wing configuration and a canted wing configuration using a canted hinge located on the wing at each side of the fuselage; and 
   two or more retractable pogo supports; wherein a retractable pogo support is configured to deploy from each of the wing's distal ends.   
     
     
         16 . The aircraft of  claim 15 , wherein the wings are configured such that, when in the canted wing configuration, the distal ends of the canted wing form a tripod launch and recovery configuration with the empennage. 
     
     
         17 . The aircraft of  claim 16 , wherein the retractable pogo supports are configured to deploy from the distal ends of the canted wings to form a tripod launch and recovery configuration with the empennage, such that the fuselage is positioned at a predetermined stand-up angle. 
     
     
         18 . The aircraft of  claim 15 , wherein the wing has a high aspect ratio. 
     
     
         19 . The aircraft of  claim 17 , wherein the predetermined stand-up angle is between 45 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         20 . The aircraft of  claim 19 , wherein the predetermined stand-up angle is between 65 and 75 degrees. 
     
     
         21 . The aircraft of  claim 15 , wherein the aircraft comprises a payload for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. 
     
     
         22 . The aircraft of  claim 15 , wherein the aircraft comprises two wing-mounted counter-rotating engines, wherein the two counter-rotating engines are arranged such that one engine is mounted on each side of the fuselage. 
     
     
         23 . The aircraft of  claim 15 , wherein the counter-rotating engine is positioned on each side of the fuselage at a point between the fuselage and the canted hinge. 
     
     
         24 . The aircraft of  claim 15 , wherein the stabilizer configuration comprises a vertical stabilizer and an all-moving horizontal stabilizer