US 12,428,148 B2
Unmanned rotorcraft with dual cargo doors
Steven R. Ivans, Ponder, TX (US); and Berlin B. Benfield, Grapevine, TX (US)
Assigned to Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed by Bell Textron Inc., Fort Worth, TX (US)
Filed on Dec. 21, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/558,307.
Prior Publication US 2023/0192287 A1, Jun. 22, 2023
Int. Cl. B64C 29/00 (2006.01); B64C 1/14 (2006.01); B64U 10/17 (2023.01); B64U 10/20 (2023.01); B64U 50/33 (2023.01); B64U 70/80 (2023.01)
CPC B64C 29/0033 (2013.01) [B64C 1/14 (2013.01); B64C 1/1415 (2013.01); B64C 29/00 (2013.01); B64U 10/17 (2023.01); B64U 10/20 (2023.01); B64U 50/33 (2023.01); B64U 70/80 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An unmanned vertical lift aircraft, comprising:
an airframe;
a drive system configured for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL);
a power plant to power the drive system;
an internal cargo bay comprising a fore aperture through a forward end of the airframe and an aft aperture through an aft end of the airframe opposite the forward end and separated from the fore aperture by a length of the cargo bay, the fore and aft apertures having dimensions substantially conforming to a cross section of the internal cargo bay, and the internal cargo bay comprising a substantially linear and open volume between the fore and aft apertures; and
a fore door associated with the fore aperture and an aft door associated with the aft aperture;
wherein each of the fore and aft doors are selectively and fixedly positionable in a ramp configuration and in a level base configuration; and
wherein the unmanned vertical lift aircraft is configured to fly with at least one of the fore and aft doors fixedly positioned in the level base configuration such that cargo may extend from the cargo bay through at least one of the fore and aft apertures during flight, the at least one of the fore and aft doors providing support for the cargo extending from the cargo bay.