US 12,434,809 B2
Dynamically tuned tail assemblies for rotorcraft
Manuel Adrian Gonzalez, Plano, TX (US); George Ryan Decker, Fort Worth, TX (US); and Robert Anthony Veltre, III, Irving, TX (US)
Assigned to Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed by Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed on Feb. 29, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/591,466.
Prior Publication US 2025/0276784 A1, Sep. 4, 2025
Int. Cl. B64C 5/02 (2006.01); B64C 5/10 (2006.01); B64C 29/00 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 5/02 (2013.01) [B64C 5/10 (2013.01); B64C 29/0033 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tail assembly for a rotorcraft having a fuselage and a rotor assembly that generates first and second excitation frequencies, the tail assembly comprising:
a stabilizer having an aft spar and a forward spar;
an aft joint coupling the aft spar to the fuselage, the aft joint defining a pitch axis such that the aft joint allows the stabilizer to pivot about the pitch axis; and
a forward joint coupling the forward spar to the fuselage, the forward joint having an axial stiffness configured to tailor a chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer and a bending stiffness configured to tailor a beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer;
wherein, the chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer is below the first excitation frequency;
wherein, the beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer is above the second excitation frequency; and
wherein, the chordwise pivot mode of the stabilizer is decoupled from the beamwise bending mode of the stabilizer.