patent granted
Further U.S. patents for Transwing aircraft design
PteroDynamics’ Parus Transwing family of all-electric VTOL aircraft are being developed for a variety of applications, primarily including cargo carrying and military operations. The design combines folding fixed wings and rotors to allow the aircraft to transition between vertical and cruise flight.
The aircraft flies with wings fully extended during cruise, but for takeoff and landing its wings can be folded back into a v-shaped multirotor configuration. This foldable design also means that Transwing aircraft will have longer than average wings, for an eVTOL design, resulting in lift-to-drag ratios greater than 20.
According to the company, when the wings are folded, Transwing aircraft will be barely a third of the width of other VTOL models. This is intended to allow them to also be driven on roads.
PteroDynamics was awarded its first patent on the Transwing aircraft design in April 2019, covering 25 apparatus and five method claims. The company subsequently filed a continuation application for an additional 20 claims, for which it received a Notice of Allowance in July 2019. In August 2020, the company was granted a notice of allowance for a third patent.
The company says it can design Transwing aircraft that range in weight from less than 5 pounds to over 75,000 pounds and can be configured using all-electric, hybrid electric with turboshaft engines or even all conventional wet fuel engines. Its Parus 4 and Parus 12 aircraft are at the working prototype stage.
On September 19, 2020, Pterodynamics posted video showing a test flight of the Parus 12, showing its wingspan of just over 12 feet. The company reported that this design is protected by two U.S. patents (with a third pending) and that it has other patents pending in the European Union, China, Japan, and Hong Kong.
Its most recent U.S patent was issued in April 2021. According to the company, it has patents pending in four international jurisdictions under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
In late July 2021, PteroDynamics leased a 9,200-square-foot facility in Colorado Springs to house the research, development, and production of its Transwing eVTOL aircraft program.
