Thrust vectoring is an essential feature for vehicles capable of transitioning in flight direction and/or transitioning between various types of flight modes, such as from a takeoff mode to a forward flight mode. In particular, propulsors (e.g., propellers, rotors, fans, ducted fans, or other thrust generating devices that accelerate air) may be designed to rotate or tilt about the vehicle to accomplish a transition in flight direction. Thrust vectoring devices provide a mechanism by which such propulsors move relative to the vehicle. Thrust vectoring devices may be employed in a number of vehicle types, including but not limited to vehicles configured for vertical takeoff and landing (“VTOL”), conventional takeoff and landing (“CTOL”), short takeoff and landing (“STOL”), and the like. Current thrust vectoring devices employ mechanically driven actuators to facilitate movement of the propulsors. With these current systems, a substantial amount of machinery, hardware and/or software may be required to appropriately engage the thrust vectoring, and often must work against freestream velocities around the vehicle to accomplish a change in flight mode and/or flight direction.
Prior art solutions for thrust vectoring system have not resolved the need for an approach to perform one or more of the above actions without drawbacks, e.g., mechanical/electrical complexity, size and weight constraints, and/or cost-prohibitive. Therefore, there is a need for thrust vectoring systems and methods that address one or more of the deficiencies described above amongst others.