Fixed Wing Hybrid-Quadrotor UAV

When I was making more money I started buying parts to build one of these I could sit in...
 
I swear I posted about an idea very similar to this on either this or rcgroups I forget, although my idea was slightly different in that the quadcopter pods arranged just like that would be mounted on servos to become pusher and puller props to propel the craft forward (obviously in vertical mode the back ones would be technically upside down), rather than staying fixed and having a puller prop on the front.

I should have channeled the spirit of Steve Jobs and patented it.
 
Ducman69 said:
I swear I posted about an idea very similar to this on either this or rcgroups I forget, although my idea was slightly different in that the quadcopter pods arranged just like that would be mounted on servos to become pusher and puller props to propel the craft forward (obviously in vertical mode the back ones would be technically upside down), rather than staying fixed and having a puller prop on the front.

I should have channeled the spirit of Steve Jobs and patented it.
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Kinda like an Osprey?

And BTW, Steve Jobs would have waited for you to display it somewhere and then patented it out from underneath you .. Prior work be damned.
 
Spidey329 said:
Kinda like an Osprey?
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Kinda, but not nearly so sophisticated.

It'd have rotating motors like the Osprey has nacelles, but be a true quadrotor just like this ship here. The front motors would be pointing up and then rotate forward, and the back would be pointing down and then rotate backward.

In that way it'd basically have two pusher puller setups like a German WW2 Pfeil in forward flight, but be able to rotate slowly and in the process lose speed and gain lift until its just a regular quadcopter. This way you can use simple fixed pitch props. Eezy peezy.

I'd call it the wingcopter!
 
Sure seems loud...I don't think you're gonna be sneaking up on any terrorists with that. :p
 
Aw christ, someone already came up with the wingcopter name! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST5KqHcc-R0#t=89

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQqSDFQ2Ntw

Although their implementation seems stupid to me. Why have all the extra weight and drag of those long arms just so all the motors can face upward. Either way, its smart though, you get the high speed and high efficiency in forward flight of an airplane, and super stable hover capability of a quad. I wonder if Amazon's latest generation looks something like this design????
 
Ducman69 said:
Aw christ, someone already came up with the wingcopter name! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST5KqHcc-R0#t=89

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQqSDFQ2Ntw

Although their implementation seems stupid to me. Why have all the extra weight and drag of those long arms just so all the motors can face upward. Either way, its smart though, you get the high speed and high efficiency in forward flight of an airplane, and super stable hover capability of a quad. I wonder if Amazon's latest generation looks something like this design????
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I'd bet this one is more aerodynamic than the one OP posted. The arms are only disrupting laminar flow across a small area. While on the other hand, the other one posted up top has a bunch of rotors that just sit there during forward flight...creating a shitload of drag that both increases air resistance AND forces the forward rotors to work harder to make up for the lost lift.
 
Ok i'm going to need 2 of these.One to patrol the side entry and window to my teen daughters room and the second to secure the 3/4 mile drive way back to my house.

As far as sound, the vert take off is loud but these travel a good distance. A terrorist will not hear this lifting off a 1/4 mile away as forward flight was pretty quiet.
 
DizConnected said:
Does this mean Amazon will be able to deliver packages further out?
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This would fit better what I think their real goal is. This would be capable of more efficiency and better payload/range. I think Amazon's real purpose is larger automated warehouse to warehouse delivery. The drone home delivery is just to catch everyone's fancy and grease the government wheels to get permission easier for larger automated warehouse deliveries.
 
Grahamkracka said:
I'd bet this one is more aerodynamic than the one OP posted. The arms are only disrupting laminar flow across a small area. While on the other hand, the other one posted up top has a bunch of rotors that just sit there during forward flight...creating a shitload of drag that both increases air resistance AND forces the forward rotors to work harder to make up for the lost lift.
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I agree, but my argument is just that you don't even need the arms at all if you go with the pusher/puller setup instead.

But actually since we're talking about Amazon, we still don't have battery packs that can compete with the energy density of petroleum fuel.

So perhaps a hybrid winged quadcopter is the best solution, as you can have a fixed prop traditional airplane chassis carrying fuel on board for range, and basically just tack on quadcopter technology with battery power JUST for the vertical take off, drop off, rise, and then landing and nothing else. This would let you carry less battery weight, and get superior range, and you have redundancy as the aircraft could still technically safely land on either propulsion system alone (fly in landing on wing, or hover landing on battery).

You would just need to design the props for the vertical takeoff landing part to be slightly recessed so they are out of the airflow in forward flight and come to a rest inside that cavity so they aren't sticking out or freewheeling creating drag.
 
SOB literally after I post I actually finally found what I was talking about... see there is no such thing as a unique thought on a planet of billions heheh!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7QNbU71lsA

THAT!!!

BTW, I was just thinking too that going back to the earliest days of aviation, Amazon could safe itself from having to carry a lot of energy just by having these land on a loading area that can double as a slingshot.

Think about it, at takeoff its going to be at its maximum weight with its payload for the customer, and winged forward flight is far more efficient but only once you get up to speed. A catapult system can make that happen and can be powered from the ground, and at no point after this would it need to actually RISE with the heavy payload vertically in hover mode, since all its doing is dropping off the package and then its a much lighter aircraft for rising back up and then landing again back at Amazon HQ.
 
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