Hi,
One of the most elegant VTOL/STOL aircraft designs I have come across is the tilt-body design by Freewing Unmanned Systems LLC (
http://www.freewing.com/)
The transition from near vertical lift to full forward flight is gradual, manageable and seems to work like a charm. I can't see any obvious reason why this can't be adapted to a full-sized aircraft...
Perhaps there are ideas you can borrow from this design.
Regards,
Duncan