US 12,491,995 B2
Vertical takeoff and landing aircraft
Gregor Čretnik, Ljubljana (SI); David Eržen, Ljubljana (SI); Rok Lapuh, Ljubljana (SI); Andres Žnidar, Vrhnika (SI); Tine Tomažič, Vrhnika (SI); Blaž Močan, Ljubljana (SI); Jernej Drofelnik, Ljubljana (SI); Jernej Pirnar, Tržič (SI); Tadej Kosel, Komenda (SI); Antonio Righetti, Farra d'Isonzo (IT); Thomas Koopman, Ljubljana (SI); and Matej Andrejašič, Postojna (SI)
Assigned to Pipistrel d.o.o., Ajdovscina (SI)
Filed by Pipistrel d.o.o., Ajdovščina (SI)
Filed on Feb. 13, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/440,931.
Prior Publication US 2025/0256841 A1, Aug. 14, 2025
Int. Cl. B64C 29/00 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 29/0025 (2013.01) 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
a fuselage aligned longitudinally;
a forward wing that extends laterally across a bottom portion of the fuselage;
an aft wing that extends laterally across an upper portion of the fuselage;
a right longitudinal boom that extends longitudinally outboard of a right side of the fuselage beneath the forward wing and the aft wing;
a left longitudinal boom that extends longitudinally outboard of a left side of the fuselage beneath the forward wing and the aft wing;
a right tail that extends vertically upwards from the right longitudinal boom to the aft wing;
a left tail that extends vertically upwards from the left longitudinal boom to the aft wing;
a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of about 1700-kg, wherein the VTOL aircraft is capable of
flying at about 80-knots equivalent airspeed (EAS) to about 100-knots EAS during a cruise phase of flight, flying for a range of about 300-km, and flying for
a flight time of about 4-hours; and
at least one pair of rotors configured to provide vertical thrust and mounted on top of the pair of longitudinal booms, respectively, wherein each rotor of the at least one pair comprises:
an about 2-meter propeller diameter;
a disk loading of about 67-kg/m2 to about 110-kg/m2; and
an operating speed of about 1800 rotations-per-minute (RPM) to about 2700-RPM; and
a pusher propeller located on an aft end of the fuselage, wherein the pusher propeller is configured for pushing the aircraft forward during forward flight.