Long Range Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aircraft System

Project goal: To merge the best aspects of fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft into a single unmanned aircraft system that can efficiently perform the roles of both types of aircraft. In emergency search and rescue, fixed-wing aircraft conduct high-pass surveys over a large geographical area to locate injured people. Rotorcraft are then called in to provide aid or assess injuries in greater detail. The unmanned aircraft system designed can hover and take off and land vertically while still being able to travel long distances efficiently. It has an aerodynamically optimized flying wing lifting-body geometry with a carbon composite construction. Four central-ducted fans produce the majority of thrust during vertical flight and are assisted by two thrust-vectoring wing pods, one on each wing tip. During horizontal flight the wing pods rotate to provide forward thrust. The design reduces total system weight by 35 percent when compared to previous design iterations, while still providing increased overall performance. Flight-testing demonstrated that implementing an autopilot system made the aircraft more stable and easier to control.