POWERPLANT DESCRIPTIVE

Last month I developped a new form of propulsion for V.T.O.L. aircrafts. After a series of sketches, I created a first version in 3D design program, and translated it to 3D Studio Max for final rendering.

All the concept is based on the power of a turboshaft engine, whose exhaust nozzle is bifurcated, and can be tilted like that of the Rolls-Royce (Bristol) Pegasus, the powerplant of the famous Harrier aircraft.
But the engine is also a turboshaft, so the main purpose of the engine is to turn a shaft.
This shaft is bifurcated through a central gearbox, and movement in transmitted to two shafts that run inside each wing to a pair of long propeller nacelles in the wingtips.
Each pod has a 90º gearbox and a tilting mechanism for the entire nacelle, and also houses a reduction gear, the big propeller and a fixed landing gear. Each pod has also an annular auxiliary fuel tank and an annular oil tank to serve the gearboxes.
In this manner, the main lifting devices are the contrarrotating propeller disks, and the exhaust jets are basically a third lift source to control attitude and maneuvering when hovering.
All control is possible in hover and in normal flight, taking into account that the pilot can use not only differential propeller pitch to each propeller; he can move differentially each nacelle tilt and each nozzle tilt to perform movements and rotations around C. of G., and can also purge exhaust gases from the tail nozzles.

In later submissions I will show more details of this unexplored aircraft concept.