About Us
Our Beginnings
During early experimentation, the focus was on mechanical wing designs meant to mimic bird and insect flight. This led to the discovery that a propeller system mated to our unique cam could replicate the thrust vectoring abilities of a bird or insect wing without some of their inherent limitations. The project evolved into the discovery of new types of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) concepts and a unique counter measure for retreating blade stall in helicopters.
Company
Inventor and aviation enthusiast, Cary Zachary has over 20 years experience with new product development. He founded Blainjett Aviation in 2016 with the confidence that he had something significant to contribute to the aviation industry. He immediately began filing patents and building prototypes with the help of some local experts and long-time associates.
Thrust Vectoring Prototypes
Our Version (V1a) thrust vectoring prototype was intended to be a proof of concept. We created a test stand around it and gathered thrust/watt data and showed that we could vector thrust in virtually any direction through pitch control inputs. Our Version (V1b) did the same thing while improving efficiency with less moving parts and a 50% weight reduction.
Scaled Helicopter Retrofit
After some mentoring from experts in the aviation industry we discovered more applications for our technology. Dissymmetry of lift and retreating blade stall are main limiting factors in the top speed of a helicopter. Since our cam could more effectively retain higher pitch angles on the retreating rotor blades without them going into a stall while holding lower pitch angles on the advancing blades, it was clear we had something unique for the helicopter world. We were very excited about this potential game changer for the industry and decided to build a scaled helicopter with our cam as a proof of concept. So far a 75% improvement has been shown with our early bench top testing compared to a swashplate.
Joint-Venture With Horizon Aeronautics
Horizon Aeronautics approached us about refining the design of their hybrid/electric Hoverbike. Horizon was in search of a compact, powerful thrust-generating system. They were interested in the thrust vectoring capability that would allow their craft to fly level and close to the ground. They were already aware of the impressive power density of ducted fans but were concerned about the battery consumption.
Our solution for them works by disabling half of the rotor and situating the unused half inside of the fuselage. It turned out to be a significant innovation and a potential game changer. The efficiency benefits were 2-3 times that of a ducted fan while generating 2-3 times the maximum thrust of smaller rotors fitting in the same amount of space.
Next Steps
Our goal is to share this technology with engineers, inventors and manufacturers who would use it to gain an advantage in their respective markets. We believe this technology is scalable and potentially disruptive to multiple categories of aviation. Patents are either allowed or pending in the US and abroad while proof of concept prototypes are in the works.
As we navigate through the early stages of development, we look forward to working with other like-minded individuals that are interested in taking this exciting journey with us.