US 11,685,515 B2
Active horizontal stabilizer for high speed rotorcraft
Luke Dafydd Gillett, Grapevine, TX (US); James Rigsby, Coppell, TX (US); Jeffrey Kirkman, Fort Worth, TX (US); Craig Lovell, Arlington, TX (US); Andrew Carter, Richland Hills, TX (US); and Aaron Alexander Acee, Euless, TX (US)
Assigned to Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed by Bell Textron Inc., Fort Worth, TX (US)
Filed on Oct. 13, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/69,816.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/914,381, filed on Oct. 11, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0107625 A1, Apr. 15, 2021
Int. Cl. B64C 5/16 (2006.01); B64C 13/16 (2006.01); B64C 5/02 (2006.01); B64C 27/06 (2006.01); B64C 27/82 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 13/16 (2013.01) [B64C 5/02 (2013.01); B64C 5/16 (2013.01); B64C 27/06 (2013.01); B64C 2027/8281 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A rotorcraft, comprising:
a main rotor system;
a tail boom;
a tail rotor carried by the tail boom;
a horizontal stabilizer carried by the tail boom, the horizontal stabilizer comprising a leading edge and the leading edge being movable about an axis of rotation relative to the tail boom; and
a horizontal stabilizer control system configured to, in response to the rotorcraft entering autorotation, control the horizontal stabilizer to automatically and without pilot input maximize airflow to the main rotor without requiring a change in pitch of the main rotor system and without prioritizing maintaining a constant longitudinal attitude of the rotorcraft.