ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,662,243, issued on June 23, was assigned to Textron Innovations Inc. (Providence, R.I.).
"Drag reducing spinner for high speed stop fold rotor" was invented by Christopher E. Foskey (Keller, Texas).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A spinner is described that can provide aerodynamic advantages for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The spinner can be shaped with multiple faces divided by chines. The chines can run down the edge of the spinner to fairings that can cover rotor blades and/or couplings between rotor blades and the rotor hubs of the aircraft. During forward flight the rotor blades can be folded down into recesses on th...