Design and Development of a Radio-Controlled Aircraft and Concept of Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL)
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
(eVTOL) capabilities. The primary objective is to explore the feasibility of incorporating VTOL functionality into a lightweight RC platform using accessible, low cost materials and components. The aircraft is constructed using foam board for its favorable weight to strength ratio and employs a straightforward elevon- based control mechanism for pitch and roll modulation. A brushless DC motor, electronic speed controller (ESC), and Li-Po battery constitute the propulsion system, while an Arduino Nano and IMU (MPU6050) support the eVTOL’s stability and control. The system is manually operated via a Flysky FS-i6 transmitter and receiver. The prototype demonstrated stable flight in fixed wing mode and basic lift-off and hover capabilities in VTOL mode; however, it encountered instability during mode transitions due to limitations in PID control tuning and power demands. The outcomes suggest that hybrid flight systems are achievable on a small scale, albeit with significant challenges in stability control and energy efficiency. This work lays a foundation for future investigations into hybrid UAV platforms and low-cost autonomous aerial mobility solutions.
Downloads
References
NASA, “Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Vision,” 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.nasa.gov/uam
M. Anderson, J. Bowers, and S. Thomas, “Hybrid VTOL Aircraft: Efficiency in Urban Transport,” Stanford University, 2016.
M. Rehan, A. Saeed, and L. Khan, “Aerodynamic Optimization of Foam- Based RC Aircraft,” Journal of Aerospace Research, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 120–128, 2020.
R. Beard and T. McLain, Small Unmanned Aircraft: Theory and Practice. Princeton University Press, 2012.
K. Selvam, “Component-Level Integration for Small UAVs,” International Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 15–22, 2023.
T. Rehm, “Challenges in Small Hybrid VTOL UAVs: Design and Control Perspectives,” UAV Engineering Journal, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 45–53, 2022.
D. Brooking, “Control and Stability Analysis of Low-Cost VTOL Drones,” in Proc. of the International Conf. on UAV Systems, pp. 89– 96, 2017.
J. Anderson et al., “Hybrid VTOL Aircraft Research,” Stanford Univer- sity, 2016.
M. H. Rehan, A. Y. Qureshi, and Z. Shahid, “Design of RC Aircraft,” Feb. 2020.
R. Beard and T. McLain, Small Unmanned Aircraft: Theory and Prac- tice, 2012.
S. Selvam, “The Ultimate Guide to Building RC Vertical Takeoff Planes,” Sept. 2023.
N. Rehm, “dRehmFlight VTOL,” July 2022.
J. Brooking, “Project YMFC-AL: The Arduino Auto-Level Quadcopter,” Apr. 2017.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published in our journal are licensed under CC-BY 4.0, which permits authors to retain copyright of their work. This license allows for unrestricted use, sharing, and reproduction of the articles, provided that proper credit is given to the original authors and the source.