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Transition from Vertical Take Off to Forward Flight

A project log for 'Bird of Prey' VTOL UAV drone

Flight time and versatility will be vastly extended using a combination of multirotor and blended wing technologies.

kendoken.do 12/03/2017 at 23:020 Comments

To transition from VTO to FF, a few things need to happen:

1. Forward motion must be initiated.

2. Rear pusher prop must transition from thrusting downwards, ~90 to rear pusher position.

3. Vertical thruster coaxial pairs must shut down.

4. Port covers must close.

Ideas for transition:

Once altitude suitable for transition is reached, use servos to set the bottom port covers to an angle that would deflect the thrust of the vertical thruster rearward, gradually increasing angle until closed. At the same time, gradually increase the angle of deflection of the rear pusher unit until proper airfoil lift is achieved. During this transitory phase, the ailerons would be in max up position, gradually descending until stable forward flight is achieved.

All this can be done either manually or programmed directly into the flight controller, or an ancillary device (onboard or at base station). (Yawing while in VTOL mode can be accomplished by changing the deflective angle of the port covers as well)

Louvred port detail

Another completely seperate idea for this transition is the stop-and-drop method, where once a suitable altitude is reached, vertical thrusting units stop and rear pusher unit pivots to rear-thrust postion. The vehicle drops, nose first, rear thrust pushes it to nominal forward flight speed. Vehicle then levels out for forward flight via ailerons.

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