Patent attributes
A rotor blade assembly includes a rotor blade having inboard and outboard regions, a blade body, and an internal spar, the blade body defining leading and trailing edges. A trailing edge assembly extends from and is connected to the trailing edge, and has a trailing edge flap and an actuator configured to deploy the trailing edge flap between first and second positions. In one of the first and second positions, an upper surface of the trailing edge flap conforms in profile to an upper surface of the rotor blade, and in the other, the trailing edge flap is inclined relative to the blade. During hovering flight, at least one trailing edge flap segment is deflected to enhance hover performance. During forward flight, at least one trailing edge flap segment is either not deflected for reduced effect on forward flight or is deflected for additional thrust.