Vtol aircraft

Claim 1

An aircraft adapted for substantially vertical take-off and landing, said aircraft comprising: means forming an annularshaped duct for directing air flowing therein to flow downward and then radially outward in a horizontal direction, said means including propeller apparatus mounted at the upper end of said duct for forcing ambient air into and through it; an annularshaped wing structure mounted concentrically with said annularshaped duct and in the path of the air flowing radially outward therefrom, the air passing over said wing structure generating vertical lifting forces thereon; an engine for operating said propeller apparatus; first and second horizontal thrust-producing devices respectively mounted on the front and rear ends of the aircraft in proximity to said duct and wing, said devices being separately operable to selectively close off the front and rear ends of said duct to selectively prevent the air therefrom from passing over the segments of the wing in the vicinity thereof, thereby to selectively produce forward and backward motion, said first and second devices each including a pair of hinged flaps that may be rotated toward its associated wing segment until it is contiguous thereto, thereby preventing the air flowing out of said duct from passing over said segment; and a rudder mounted to the rear of the exhaust of said engiNe.