convertiplane
Sign in to saveA convertiplane is defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI or World Air Sports Federation) as an aircraft which uses rotor power for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and converts to fixed-wing lift in normal flight. In the US, it is further classified as a sub-type of powered lift. In popular usage, it sometimes includes any aircraft that converts in flight to change its method of obtaining lift.
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Types of convertiplane
- Tiltrotor
- Tiltwing
- Stopped rotor
- History
- See also
- Notes
- Bibliography
- External links
A convertiplane is defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI or World Air Sports Federation) as an aircraft which uses rotor power for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and converts to fixed-wing lift in normal flight. In the US, it is further classified as a sub-type of powered lift. In popular usage, it sometimes includes any aircraft that converts in flight to change its method of obtaining lift.
==Types of convertiplane== Most convertiplanes are of the proprotor type, in which the same spinning blades are used as rotor blades for vertical flight and then pivot forward to act as propeller blades in horizontal flight. Proprotor types may be of either tilt rotor or tilt wing configuration. Tiltwing mechanisms tends to be more complicated. As with the helicopter, an engine failure could be disastrous even in the case of a cross-coupled twin rotor configuration.