More test flight videos from Aerovel

The Flexrotor its a great looking platform from Tad McGeer and his team. VTOL launch with fixed wing economy in the cruise. Most impressive in this video was the amount of wind present on the windsock during the landing. It will be interesting to see how this works on the deck of a moving vessel. No doubt coming soon…

• a “tailsitter” layout roughly comparable to that of experimental VTOL fighters of the 1950s, and likewise somewhat akin to the “helicopter airplane” proposed by Prince (1952);
• a large, geared-down tractor rotor/propellor having low disc loading, offering reasonable propulsive efficiency over a flight envelope stretching from hover to long-range cruise to high-speed dash;
• thrust-borne launch, with fuselage and rotor axis vertical;
• wing-borne cruise, with fuselage and rotor axis horizontal;
• standard aerodynamic surfaces for control in wing-borne flight, and a combination of rotor cyclic and stowable wing-tip thrusters for control in thrust-borne flight.

VTOL is exploited to allow the aircraft to operate autonomously from sites having restricted access, including small boats in rough conditions.  Automation encompasses the full ground-handling cycle, from retrieval through to parking, fueling, and launch, which will be possible from an unattended and portable base station.  The system is designed for low logistics costs, high flight-hours per man-hour, and wide-ranging operations over oceans and remote areas.  Prospective applications include weather and environmental monitoring, geological survey, and land- and ship-based imaging reconnaissance (McGeer 2007).  The accompanying table lists salient features of the aircraft.