AggieAir VTOL Transition Drone

Team: Logan Freeman, Myles Adams, Sam DeCorso, Kobe Braning, Andrew Lovejoy, and Jonathan Mott

Sponsor: Aggie Air

Project Description

The purpose of this project is to reverse engineer the geometry of the commercially available MakeFlyEasy Striver aircraft and then design and build a new airframe from US-sourced components, employing rapid prototyping to produce an inexpensive, field-ready, and capable VTOL fixed-wing drone.

Prototype figure

Performance Review

Requirement/Constraint Target Threshold Measured Performance
Requirement: Flight Time 60 minutes 30 minutes N/A
Requirement: In-field Assembly 1 person, 20 minutes, zero tools required 2 people, 1 hour 1 person in 10 minutes, no adhesives required
Requirement: Total Weight 20 lbs or less 55 lbs or less 18.5 lbs without camera
Requirement: Field Repairable 100% of components replaceable or repairable in-field in less than 2 hours. Zero tools required for repair Repairs require only hand tools (Hex key, screwdrivers, etc.) and duct tape 100% of components repairable or replaceable in less than 2 hours with hand tools and adhesives.
Requirement: Transport Box Size Aircraft can fit inside a 62 in (157 cm) length + width + height box for transport on all airlines Aircraft must fit inside a 115 in (292 cm) length + width + height box for transport on American Airlines Test aircraft will fit inside 115in box. Production aircraft will fit inside 62in box.

Verification

These performances were verified using common measurement techniques. Although not necessary for our requirements, wind tunnel testing was also conducted.

Design Description

Fuselage

The fuselage was designed in sections to fit in a 256mm^3 Bambu Lab 3D printer using ASA Aero filament. The fuselage assembly contains two access points.

Fuselage figure

Wing

Each wing assembly was designed and printed in sections. For rigidity, the wing sections are fused using an acetone-ASA glue. The VTOL spars are mounted via hardware to the wing.

Wing figure

Tail

The tail assembly consists of two horizontal stabilizers and a vertical stabilizer. The vertical is fused with an acetone-ASA glue to the fuselage, and the horizontals are press-fit.

Tail figure

Conclusion

  • The design currently meets the listedrequirements, besides flight time and transport size.
  • Our team learned that clear communication between roles is essential to achieving our goals and create a quality design.
  • Recommendations for future work include full flight test data acquisition, and improvements to the design based on the acquired flight data.