Utterfly® II close-up
About
Utterfly® I in flight
- alter a regular aircraft to emulate a helicopter by endowing it with VTOL capability. The examples mentioned above belong to this category.
- alter a helicopter to fly like a regular aircraft. Examples are the Sikorsky X2 and the Eurocopter X3.
Both approaches result in enormous complexity with limited success. The examples mentioned work up to a point but they inherit the weaknesses of either aircraft or helicopters. A new approach would be preferable. We describe a novel design of an aircraft that flies like a regular aircraft but also has VTOL/STOL capabilities while loosing none of the advantages of helicopters or aircraft.
Cell No: 585 478 9363
For over 70 years attempts have been made to design an aircraft able to fly horizontally as well as take off and land vertically.
The most prominent among these is the Bell XV-3, an early example of the Tilt Rotor concept. The V-22 Osprey has evolved from this design. Other examples using a tilt-wing design are the CL-84 and XC-142. Hawker-Siddley proposed a VTOL/STOL jet airliner the HS-141using fan lift engines. Of these only the V-22 has achieved production status.
Design attempts can be classified generally under two categories:
Scale Models for Test
I have shown simulations of the aircraft in its final form - a 40-passenger VTOL/STOL commuter aircraft.
I have built scale models to test the concept. It has a 5’ wingspan. This is the second iteration. The first version, Utterfly® I, achieved 40% of design goals. The second iteration, Utterfly® II, has achievedabout 90% of the design goal.
I have tested its flight characteristics. It takes off and lands vertically. However, I have encountered some problems; the single most important one is that nobody knows how to fly this aircraft. Work continues on a third iteration.
The photographs show Utterfly® I and Utterfly® II.