VTOL Aircraft

1,168,143. V.T.O.L. aircraft. ENTWICKLUNGSRING SUD G.m.b.H. 19 July, 1967 [19 July, 1966], No. 33263/67. Heading B7G. A V.T.O.L. aircraft fuselage 5 houses at least one pair of lift thrust engines 2, 18, 20, 40 . . . 43, each engine being inclined to the fuselage plane of symmetry and being mounted in a passage 3, 19, 23 along which it can slide (e.g. along guides 11, 12 under the action of hydraulic jacks 14) between a stored position within the fuselage and an extended position when in use. The engines may have nozzles 17, 22, 47 rotatable to deflect the engine thrust forwards (or backwards), sideways or downwards. The nozzles and thrust modulation may be used to provide pitch roll and yaw control and also braking for the aircraft. Roll control can also be achieved by relative displacement of the engines along their axes. When the engines are inoperative the intakes in the top of the fuselage and the jet outlets may be closed by doors 26, 28 respectively.