HYbrid Piston Electrical Rotorcraft

Ducted fan vehicles can hover but also perform inflected cruise at high speeds. The preliminary design has to begin from the basic physics in order to get an optimized vehicle design, for a given requirement.

A ducted fan vehicle allows access to such places which are inaccessible to fixed wing UAVs. A useful capability of such vehicles is to perch and stare, where the vehicle lands at a remote location, and performs a certain set of tasks, such as providing live video or imaging.

In this project, a ducted fan vehicle was designed to meet unique specifications such as a requirement for a reduced noise operating mode. The design presents an innovative hybrid propulsion system which allows flying for 10 minutes on electrical propulsion.

A design process of the aerodynamics, control and structure was preformed. Furthermore, a six degree of freedom simulation model, and preliminary wind tunnel experiment of a sized down model were planned and carried out.